Tolson is an English patronymic surname-name meaning son of Toll or a related medieval form.
Tolson is an English patronymic surname — literally "son of Tol" or "son of Toll" — where Toll was a medieval pet form of the given name Bartholomew, itself derived from the Aramaic bar-Talmay, meaning "son of Talmai" (a figure whose name may relate to the Hebrew word for furrows or ridges of earth). Bartholomew was one of the twelve apostles, and his name was common enough in medieval England to spin off numerous diminutive forms: Bat, Tolly, Toll, and thus Tolson. The surname distribution is concentrated in the north of England, particularly Yorkshire and Lancashire, where Scandinavian settlement had left its mark on both landscape and language.
As a given name, Tolson belongs to the English tradition of turning distinguished family surnames into first names — a practice with deep roots in aristocratic custom and now widely adopted across all social classes. It has a sturdy, northern English quality: no-nonsense, with the friendly nickname Tolly ready to hand. The name carries echoes of the Mellors and Hardcastles of classic English literature without being ostentatiously literary.
In a contemporary context Tolson stands out precisely because it is not fashionable — it is too old-fashioned to be trendy and too genuine to be merely decorative. It rewards a child who will grow into a name rather than simply wear it.