Ransom/Ransom are family names on my dad’s side that I really like, but I’m not sure about the connotation. I quite like Ranson, and it’s not a word like Ransom is, but is it too uncommon? Which one is better?
I actually prefer [name_m]Ransom[/name_m], despite the connotation. I think a [name_m]Ranson[/name_m] is going to be correcting everyone that it’s actually NOT [name_m]Ransom[/name_m]. At least in the US, I think [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] totally works with the cowboy/rustic trend along the lines of [name_u]Wyatt[/name_u], [name_u]Ryder[/name_u], [name_u]Sawyer[/name_u], [name_m]Colt[/name_m], etc.
I much prefer Ranson.
Imo, Ransom boarders unusable due to the connection. Ranson has a similar look, feel, and sound without having the connection. I think it’s a great alternative
I have a 3-year-old [name_m]Ransom[/name_m]. We’ve gotten a few weird looks, but I love his name. Yes, it has the “ransom note” connotation, and we struggled a bit with whether it was too “bad-boy.” But I found it in C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy (the protagonist is [name_m]Elwin[/name_m] [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] but goes by Ransom), he is a sort of [name_m]Christ[/name_m] figure in the series, and as a [name_u]Christian[/name_u] I like that association as it ties into the idea that [name_m]Jesus[/name_m] is our ransom.
Plus, as a surname, it has roots as the patronymic “Ranulph/Randolph’s son,” which comes with the meaning “shield (wolf) son.” You could interpret it as a protection name, which I like for a firstborn.
So that’s my plug for [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] 
[name_m]Ranson[/name_m] is ok if you can’t get past the associations, but I do think he’d be mistaken for [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] anyway.
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I like both and have never heard [name_m]Ranson[/name_m] before. I quite enjoy it
I prefer [name_m]Ranson[/name_m]. That name seems like a blank slate. Ransom’s connotation is largely negative. [name_m]Ranson[/name_m] could be anything.
I definitely see the dilemma! I wonder, if you used [name_m]Ranson[/name_m], whether it would just be confused for [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] all the time. 
[name_m]Ranson[/name_m] reminds me of rancid so I don’t care for that so much.
[name_m]Ransom[/name_m] is cool but kind of a dark name. I think of the character from Knives Out.
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I think of the Knives Out character too!
I prefer [name_m]Ranson[/name_m] but agree that it would likely be mistaken for [name_m]Ransom[/name_m] a lot, as well as maybe for [name_m]Ronson[/name_m] for audiences familiar with musician [name_m]Mark[/name_m] [name_m]Ronson[/name_m]. (I don’t mean that [name_m]Mark[/name_m] [name_m]Ronson[/name_m] is super prominent, just that his name might be another more recognizable one that people think of ahead of Ranson.)
I forgot to mention this in my post, but me too! Jimmy Stewart 
And he isn’t even the cowboy character whom you might expect to have the name Ransom.
One more thing about Ransom vs. Ranson: Ransom is occasionally misheard as Branson, which would probably happen to Ranson also.
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I love [name_m]Ransom[/name_m].
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