This uncommon name is of early medieval English origin, and is one of the patronymic forms of the surname Amery or Emery, which is itself of Old French origin from a personal name introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066. The personal name was adopted from the Old Germanic "Amalric", composed of the elements "amal", bravery, vigour, and "ric", power, and had a number of variant forms in Old French, ranging from Amalri(c), Aumari(c) and Amauri, to Emaurri, Haimeri and Ymeri. Many of these given name forms are reflected in the variety of surnames generated from "Amalric"; these include Amery, Emery, Embery, Embury and Imbery, and the patronymic forms Emerson, Empson, Emberson and Amberson. The "b" is a common intrusive after "m" in surnames. One William Emeryson is recorded in 1411 in the Charters of the Priory of Finchale (County Durham), and Cuthbert Emerson is listed in the Register of the Freemen of the City of York in 1498. In some few cases, Amberson may be a variant form of the locational surname from Ambersham in Sussex; Elizabeth Ambersome is recorded in Haslemere, near the Sussex border with Surrey, in 1598. Examples of the name from Church Registers include: the christening of Thomas, son of William Amberson, on September 16th 1621, at St. Peter's, Leeds, Yorkshire, and the marriage of Robert Amberson and Alice Rawlins on April 29th 1647, at St. Bartholomew the Less, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rhonda Amberson, which was dated April 5th 1582, christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, known as "Good Queen Bess", 1558 - 1603. 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.

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