Frequency: (178)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Origin uncertain. There is some evidence that it may be an altered form of an English patronymic, Cittison, from an unidentified personal name. Alternatively, it may be an ornamental adoption of the vocabulary word citizen as a surname by people with republican beliefs, in some cases representing an Americanized form of the French equivalent citoyen.
GIVEN NAMES: French 8%. Raoul (2), Lucien, Maudry.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
