Recorded as Mitchelson, Mitcheson, Mitchinson, Mitchenson, and others, this is an English and Scottish surname. First recorded in the 13th century, however spelt it is a patronymic of the personal name Michael of Hebrew origins. Most spellings seem to have appeared almost simultaneously in both countries and intermixing in the famous Border Country. Michael, meaning 'he who is like God' - was a Norman but mainly Crusader introduction to England and Scotland after the famous Crusades to the Holy Land. Mitchinson when it occurs, is a creation of dialect, the locals finding it easier to pronounce than the usual Mitchelson. A remarkably similar abbreviation which applies locally is that of Patterson to Pattinson. An early example of the surname recordings is Johannes Michelson in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, whilst in Scotland Master Jone Mitchelson was a notary public of Aberdeen in 1475, and William Mitchinson is recorded at Dalson in Cumberland in 1688. Ann Mitcheson married a French Huguenot refugee called Edward L'Epine in London in 1749. This was during the reign of King George 11nd of England. He was known as 'The Warrior King', being the last ruling monarch of Great Britain to take part in an actual battle, this being Dettingen in 1743. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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