English
The surname Dickason is of English and Scottish origin. The surname signifies 'the son of Richard'; Dick being the pet form of Richard in Britian, where it is especially common in Scotland. The given name Richard is one of the most enduringly successful of the Germanic personal names introduced into Britian by the Normans. It is composed of the elements 'ric', power and 'hard', hardy, brave, strong. It has enjoyed continuous popularity in England from the Conquest to the present day, strongly influenced by the fact that it was borne by three kings of England, in particular Richard I ( 1157-99 ). He was king for only ten years ( 1189-99 ), most of which he spent in warfare abroad, costing the people of England considerable amounts in taxes. Nevertheless, he achieved the status of folk hero, and was never in England long enough to disappoint popular faith in his goodness and justice. His exploits as a leader of the Third Crusade earned him the nickname 'Coeur de Lion' or 'Lionheart' and a permanent place in popular imagination, in which he was even more firmly enshrined by Sir Walter Scott's novel Ivanhoe ( 1820 ). The surname dates back to the thirteenth century were a William Dykounson is recorded in historical archives. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a Jeremiah Dickerson, who emigrated to America aboard the barque Margert and John; he landed at Jamestown in 1620. This name is the five-hundredth and third most common surname in America.