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Alderson History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Alderson History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

The generations and branches of the Alderson family share a name that has its roots in the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. The name Alderson comes from the baptismal name Alder. As the naming tradition grew in Europe baptismal names began to be introduced in many countries. Baptismal names were sometimes given in honor of Christian saints and other biblical figures. There are very few Christian countries in Europe that did not adopt surnames from these religious figures. The name Alder meant wise warrior.

Alternatively the name could mean "dweller by the alder(s)" from the Old English word "alor." 1

Early Origins of the Alderson family

The surname Alderson was first found in London and Middlesex, where the name meant 'son of the old wise warrior'. By the 16th century they had migrated north to Scotland to Haddington in East Lothian where they called themselves Alderston.

In Cumberland, Alston, the market-town and parish of Alston-Moor was home to some of the family in early times. "Mining in this district is of some antiquity, several charters having been granted to the miners of 'Alderston' in the 13th century. " 2

"Alderson is a name of very frequent occurrence in the Richmond district of the North Riding. John Alderson was sheriff of the city of York in 1709. The name is also established in the adjacent county of Durham." 3

Early History of the Alderson family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Alderson research. Another 109 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1544, 1554, 1605, 1620, 1634, 1743, 1758, 1760, 1787, 1792, 1794, 1811, 1817, 1822, 1829, 1830, 1834, 1857, 1867 and 1882 are included under the topic Early Alderson History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Alderson Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Alderson include Alders, Alderson, Alderston, Alderstone, Aldirstone and many more.

Early Notables of the Alderson family

Notables of the family at this time include

Sir Edward Hall Alderson (1787-1857), English judge, the son of Robert Alderson, for many years recorder of Norwich, Yarmouth, and Ipswich. He was called to the bar in 1811, and joined the northern ci...
John Alderson (1758-1829), English physician, belonged to a family distinguished by its varied intellectual gifts. He was born at Lowestoft, the son of a dissenting minister, the Rev. J. Alderson, who...

Alderson Ranking

In the United States, the name Alderson is the 5,842^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Alderson migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Alderson or a variant listed above:

Alderson Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ann Alderson, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 5
Thomas Alderson who settled in Boston Massachusetts in 1679

Alderson Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

James Alderson, who landed in Virginia in 1705 5
Simon Alderson, who arrived in North Carolina in 1705 5

Alderson Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Alderson, who landed in New York in 1803 5
John Alderson, aged 40, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1820
John Alderson, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1832 5
Richard Alderson, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1840 5
Thomas Alderson, who settled in that same city in 1842
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Alderson migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Alderson Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Samuel Alderson, British convict who was convicted in Liverpool, Merseyside, England for 10 years, transported aboard the "Cornwall" on 28th February 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

Alderson migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Alderson Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Alderson, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Mandarin" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 14th November 1843 7
Mr. T. H. Alderson, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Kenilworth" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 2nd May 1857 7
Anthony Alderson, aged 50, a labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
Cicely Alderson, aged 38, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
Phoebe Alderson, aged 10, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Berar" in 1875
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Alderson (post 1700) +

Joan Alderson (b. 1935), American bronze medalist competitive swimmer at the 1952 Summer Olympics
Dale Leonard Alderson (1918-1982), American Major League Baseball piticher for the Chicago Cubs from 1943 through 1944
John D. Alderson, American lawyer and politician, Sergeant at Arms of the West Virginia Senate from 1871 to 1873, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from West Virginia's 3rd congressional district (1889–1895)
Eddie Alderson (b. 1994), American Daytime Emmy and Young Artist Award nominated actor from Bucks County, Pennsylvania
Daniel John "Dan" Alderson (1941-1989), American scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, eponym of the fictional Alderson drive and the theoretical Alderson drive
Richard Lynn "Sandy" Alderson (b. 1947), American General Manager of the Major League Baseball New York Mets
Kristen Alderson (b. 1991), American actress
Samuel W. Alderson (1914-2005), American inventor of the crash-test dummy
Eugene Alderson, American Democratic Party politician, Chair of Nicholas County Democratic Party, 1929 8
E. P. Alderson, American politician, Member of West Virginia State Senate 9th District, 1925-28 8
... (Another 23 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Alderson family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Stanley Alderson, British Able Bodied Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking, died during the evacuation of Singapore in 1942 9

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cornwall
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html