The surname Dodson is of English origin, derived from the Old English word 'dod' meaning 'knoll' or 'hillock', and 'son' signifying 'son of'. It originally denoted a person who lived by such a geographical feature. The name has been recorded since the early 13th century in England, with the earliest records including John Dodson who was listed as living in Yorkshire in 1275.
The name Dodson appears to have had its peak popularity between 1924 and 1934 with six births recorded in the former year and five in the latter. After a gap of nearly fifteen years, there was another spike in 1950 with five births registered that year. Overall, there were sixteen babies named Dodson across these three years.