Sisson

Background:  Metronymic from the medieval female personal name Siss, Ciss, short for Sisley, Cecilie (see Sisley), or possibly from a pet form of Sisley (with the old French diminutive suffix -on).

Variant of Sessions: English (of Norman origin): habitational name from Soissons in northern France, named for the Gaulish tribe who once inhabited the area, and whose name is recorded in Latin documents in the form Suessiones, of uncertain derivation.

The name of the martyr St Cecilia, the patron Saint of musicians was particularly popular with the Normans and was introduced into England by them after the 1066 invasion. As a result of its popularity the original name developed into many nickname or petname spellings of which the most usual was "Ciss". From 'Ciss or Siss' developed patronymic spellings by adding the Anglo-Saxon 'Son', to give variant spellings such as Cyson, Sisson, Syson etc. Sisson's a popular surname in the plural form, is a double patronymic similar to the Irish Gaelic O' and means the "Son of Ciss's Son". The surname is particularly popular in Yorkshire, all early recordings being from that area. The name development includes John Sisson in the 1379 Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire and Edward Sissons in the 1641 Friary Rolls, also of Yorkshire, and Peter Syson, who married Mary Dawson at St Georges Church, Hanover Square, London, on July 1st 1759. The coat of arms has the blazon of a gold field, charged with three red bends, and the crest of a stag trippant in silver. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Cisson. which was dated 1379, in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls. during the reign of King Richard 11, known as Richard of Bordeaux, 1378 - 1400. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Name Variations:  Siston, Sistons, Syston, Sistun, Systun, Sisson, Sysun, Sisun, Sissun, Sison, Sisons, Syson, Sysson, Session, Sesion.

References:
One or more of the following publications has been referenced for this article.
The General Armory; Sir Bernard Burke - 1842.
A Handbook of Mottoes; C.N. Elvin - 1860.
English Surnames; C.M. Matthews - 1966.
A Dictionary of English Surnames; P.H. Reaney - 1958.
Internet Surname Database: http://www.surnamedb.com/surname.aspx?name=Syson

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