Jerson
A masculine name of Hawaiian origin meaning "God's gracious gift".
Name Census estimates that about 1,208 living Americans carry the first name Jerson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jerson today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerson births was 2007 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerson. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 283,737 Americans
Peak year
2007
75 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,118
Tracked since 1982
Census
Jerson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,191 people with the first name Jerson, which placed it at #7,067 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,067
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,191 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
87.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jerson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerson is Hispanic at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%) and White (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jerson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jerson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.6% · 1,920
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 135
- White3.1% · 68
- Black or African American2.7% · 59
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
- Two or more races0.2% · 4
Popularity
Jerson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jerson from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 503 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jerson by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jerson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jersons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Jerson, while North Carolina, Virginia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 76 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jerson
The given name Jerson is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language and culture, with its roots tracing back to ancient times. The name is derived from the Hebrew word "Ger," which means "stranger" or "sojourner," and the suffix "-son," indicating a patronymic or a reference to one's father. This combination suggests a meaning along the lines of "son of a stranger" or "son of a sojourner."
Historically, the name Jerson does not appear to have any significant mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval Europe, particularly in regions with Jewish communities. One notable individual bearing this name was Jerson ben Isaac, a renowned Jewish scholar and philosopher from the 12th century, who made significant contributions to the study of Talmudic literature and Jewish law.
Moving forward in time, Jerson became a more common name among certain Christian communities, particularly in regions influenced by Jewish culture and traditions. One example is Jerson Alvarez, a Spanish theologian and writer from the 16th century, who wrote extensively on topics related to the Catholic Church and its teachings.
Another historical figure named Jerson was Jerson Bento da Costa, a Brazilian military officer and politician who lived in the 19th century. He played a prominent role in the Brazilian War of Independence and later served as a senator in the Brazilian parliament.
In the realm of literature, Jerson Alves de Lima was a Brazilian poet and writer from the 20th century, known for his works that explored themes of social injustice and the experiences of marginalized communities.
More recently, Jerson Cabral was a notable Haitian painter and artist who gained recognition for his vibrant and expressive depictions of Haitian culture and life, often incorporating elements of Vodou symbolism into his works.
While the name Jerson may not be as prevalent as some other names, it has a rich historical legacy, spanning various cultures and time periods. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Hebrew roots, and it has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in fields such as scholarship, literature, politics, and the arts.
People
Jerson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jerson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jerson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jerson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerson going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 283,737 US residents.
Is Jerson a common name?
We classify Jerson as "Rare". It ranks above 91.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,225 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jerson most popular?
The single biggest year for Jerson was 2007, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerson is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jerson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,191 people with the name Jerson, or 0.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,067 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jerson in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jerson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jerson appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,199 people counted with this name, 99.1% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jerson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jerson is Hispanic at 87.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%) and White (3.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jerson most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Jerson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.6% (1,920 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jerson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jerson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerson in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jerson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerson in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jerson can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Jerson?
Want to know how many Americans are named Jerson? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.