Dobinson (English) comes from English Sơn, from Middle English sone, from Old English sōna, from Proto-West Germanic sān(ō), from Proto-Germanic sēna, from Proto-Germanic *sa, from Proto-Austronesian *əsa, from Proto-Oceanic *isa.
Ancestry of “Dobinson”, step by step
Dobinson traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
A pet name given to workhorses, and by extension, a placeholder name used for any workhorse, much like John Q. Public and other such placeholders are used for people