Where does “Neilson” come from?

Neilson is an English patronymic surname derived from Neil, which comes from Irish Niall, ultimately from Old Irish Níall, a name of uncertain origin and meaning.

Ancestry of “Neilson”, step by step

Neilson traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English Sơn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishSơn
2Middle Englishsoneson; soon; Alternative form of sonne
3Old Englishsōnaimmediately, at once
4Proto-West Germanicsān(ō)immediately
5Proto-Germanicsēna
6Proto-Germanic*sa
7Proto-Austronesian*əsa
8Proto-Oceanic*isa

via English Neil

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishNeilderived from the given name
2IrishNiall
3Old IrishNíall
Every word from Proto-Oceanic *isa