Baby Names
These Are The Most Popular Baby Names By State
West Virginia- Emma & Mason
Image: Instagram/ercbyariel
Prior to its boom in popularity, Mason was either a profession (a stone worker) or a surname. In 2011, the name held the #2 spot for all boys names in the US. The surname, according to Ancestry.com, is mostly Scottish or English in origin. The site also reminds us that, “Stonemasonry was a hugely important craft in the Middle Ages.”
Even more interestingly, Oh Baby! Names details, “As a surname, Mason dates back to at least the 11th century England when last names were issued as a form of identification for taxation purposes. Occupations became one of the key ways to classify a citizen. This is how Robert the baker became Robert Baker and Richard the stoneworker became Richard Mason. It’s uncertain when Mason began to be used as a forename for boys, but we know it dates back to at least the 19th century in America.”
