View Message

The name, I believe is English, though that would not preclude a family with it being from either Scotland or Ireland. Many of the surnames throughout the British Isles have spread through immigration and especially through name adoption. Many names are translated and often mistranslated into a more familiar form, primarily from their Gaelic origins to English.

Therefore, Garson, I likely can be found throughout the British Isles. I did not find it in my Irish surname book which is based on relatively modern phone directories, but that doesn't mean it never existed there.

It is in one of my name books as "son of Gar" with Gar being either coming from the Germanic word meaning 'spear' or a the Welsh word meaning 'gentle' ...I'd suspect, with the Gaelic origins of your family, that the latter was the more áppropos ...

Sorry, that doesn't cure your Irish/Scottish dilemma, though they are quite related. I'd suggest delving in a bit further into your ancestors which is where the true story lies ...