Willson is an

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

patronymic A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, alt ...

surname, literally "son of William" (

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

an old

Old German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...

name). There are other spellings, such as the more common Wilson variant. Willson is less common as a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a ...

. Willson may refer to:

Surname

* Alan N. Willson, Jr. (born 1939), American electrical engineer * Alice Willson (1889–1980), First Lady of North Carolina * Augustus E. Willson (1846–1931), American politician * Bob Willson (born 1928), Canadian broadcaster * Brian Willson (born 1941), American Vietnam War veteran and activist *

Chloe Clark Willson Chloe Aurelia Clark Willson (1818–1874) was an early pioneer of what became the U.S. state of Oregon, and one of the first teachers of the Methodist mission in the Willamette Valley. In 1850, she owned half of the land in Oregon's state capital S ...

(1818-1874), American teacher in the territory that became Oregon * Crowell Willson (1815–1894), Canadian farmer and politician * Crowell Willson (Upper Canada) (1762–1832), Canadian farmer and politician * David Willson (1778–1866), religious leader and mystic * David Harris Willson (1901–1973), American historian and professor * Diddie Willson (1911–1961), American football player * Forceythe Willson (1837–1867), American poet * Fred F. Willson (1877-1956), American architect *

Henry Willson Henry Leroy Willson (July 31, 1911 – November 2, 1978) was an American Hollywood talent agent who played a large role in developing the beefcake craze of the 1950s. He was known for his stable of young, attractive clients, including Rock ...

(1911–1978), American talent agent * James C. Willson (1833-?), Canadian-born Michigan politician *

John Willson John Willson (August 5, 1776 – May 26, 1860) was a judge and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in New Jersey in 1776. He arrived in the Niagara District around 1789 and settled in Saltfleet Township, where he became a farmer, in 17 ...

(1776–1860), Canadian judge and politician *

Laurel Rose Willson Laurel Rose Willson (August 18, 1941 – April 8, 2002) was an American con artist. She authored books alleging Satanic ritual abuse (SRA), and later assumed the guise of a Holocaust survivor. Early life Willson was born in Tacoma, Washington ...

(1941–2002), American whose claims of Satanic ritual abuse were a hoax * Lester S. Willson (1839-1919), Civil War (U.S.) officer and Bozeman, Montana merchant * Luke Willson (born 1990), American Football player * Maria Willson, British singer *

Marty Willson-Piper Marty Willson-Piper (born 7 May 1958) is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter best known as a former long-time member of the Australian psychedelic rock band The Church. He joined in 1980 after seeing an early gig where they were perform ...

(born 1958), guitarist and member of Australian independent rock band The Church *

Meredith Willson Robert Reiniger Meredith Willson (May 18, 1902 – June 15, 1984) was an American flutist, composer, conductor, musical arranger, bandleader, playwright, and writer. He is perhaps best known for writing the book, music, and lyrics for the 19 ...

(1902–1984), American composer, playwright *

Michael Willson Michael Andreas Willson (born 29 October 1963) is a British former professional sportsperson best known for his role as Cobra on the British TV show ''Gladiators'' Career Willson has said he often appeared on ''Gladiators'' drunk and was nea ...

(born 1963), British actor * Paul Willson (born 1945), American actor *

Quentin Willson Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is an English TV presenter, motoring journalist, author, TV producer and former car dealer, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes ''Britain's Worst Driver'', ''Fifth Gear'', and ...

(born 1957), British TV presenter and motoring expert * Robert Willson (disambiguation), one of several people * Russell Willson (1883–1948), American vice admiral, inventor of the Naval Cipher Box * Simon Willson, Hong Kong radio producer, DJ, actor * Stephen Clarke-Willson, American video game and software expert *

Thomas Willson Thomas Leopold "Carbide" Willson (March 14, 1860 – December 20, 1915) was a Canadian inventor. He was born on a farm near Princeton, Ontario, in 1860 and went to school in Hamilton, Ontario. By the age of 21, he had designed and patented ...

(1860–1915), Canadian inventor *

William H. Willson William Holden Willson (April 14, 1805 – April 17, 1856) was a pioneer of the U.S. state of Oregon and the founder of its capital city, Salem. A native of New Hampshire, he immigrated to the Oregon Country in 1837 to work at the Methodist ...

(1805–1856), American politician *

William Willson (businessman) Stanley William Willson, MBE (May 1927David Brown sells Aston Martin. ''The Times'', Friday, 18 Feb 1972; pg. 15; Issue 58405 – 25 December 2003), Chartered Accountant, was chairman of Aston Martin from 1972 to 1975. In February 1972 Willso ...

(1927–2003), chairman of Aston Martin (1972–1975)

Given name or nickname

* Willson Contreras (born 1992), Venezuelan baseball player * Willson Osborne (1906–1979), American composer *

Willson Woodside Charles Willson Woodside (1905 – May 29, 1991) was a Canadian journalist well-known for his World War II reporting. He was also an author and a professor of political science at the University of Guelph. Biography Willson Woodside was born in Po ...

(1905-1991), Canadian journalist

Surname

Given name or nickname

See also