Knudson

Knudson is a surname of Scandinavian origin, an anglicized patronymic meaning “son of Knud,” with Knud being the Danish and Norwegian form of Knut. The name arose where patronymic naming practices were common and has multiple spellings in English-language records.

The form Knudson is found in North America, particularly among people with Danish or Norwegian ancestry. Variants include Knudsen, Knutsen, Knutsson, and other Nordic spellings. Genealogical records show the surname in Nordic populations dating back centuries, with its presence spreading to the United States and Canada through immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Notable individuals with the surname include Alfred Knudson, an American cancer geneticist who proposed the two-hit hypothesis of tumor suppressor gene inactivation, a foundational concept in cancer genetics. Beyond science, people named Knudson have been active in various fields such as sports, education, and the arts, reflecting the broad geographic and professional distribution of families bearing the name.

In scholarly and genealogical contexts, Knudson is discussed alongside related surnames and patronymic naming practices, highlighting its origins, variants, and the patterns by which Scandinavian names were carried into modern populations.