Branson is a city in Stone and Taney Counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. Most of the city is in Taney County, with a small portion in the west extending into Stone County. Branson is in the Ozark Mountains. The community was named after Ruben Branson, postmaster and operator of a general store in the area in the 1880s. The population was 10,520 at the 2010 census.