An English, Welsh and German surname, Dotson comes from the Old English term ‘dodda’ which refers to something round, someone short and stout. The spelling variations for Dotson include Dodson, Dudd, Dod and Doddson. In England the Dotson surname orientated in Cheshire and then scattered across the north in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Durham, then to the south in Cornwall, Devon, Kent, Middlesex, Essex and the city of London. There are some with the Dotson name in eastern Wales. In Scotland the Dotson surname is mainly located in Lanarkshire county. Within the United States the Dotson family name originated in Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Illinois, Arkansas, Texas, Alabama, Ohio and Indiana. Famous: Richard Dotson (professional baseball player), Bob Dotson (journalist), Earl Dotson (professional football player), Carlton Dotson (professional basketball player), Amber Dotson (singer), Delon Dotson (developer for engineering Netscape Communications), Alphonse Dotson (professional football player) and Santana Dotson (professional football player).