2000
#2,588
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,868
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.77
Uncommon Last name
Jameson
An anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Ó Séamuis, meaning "descendant of Séamus" (James).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,443 Americans carry the last name Jameson. That puts it at #2,785 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,732 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jameson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jameson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 23,732
Census rank
#2,785
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,595 bearers of the surname Jameson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2785th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jameson, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jameson
The surname Jameson is of Scottish origin, derived from the medieval personal name "James" combined with the patronymic suffix "-son", meaning "son of James". The name James itself is derived from the Latin name "Iacobus", which in turn came from the Hebrew name "Ya'aqov" or Jacob.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Jameson can be traced back to the late 12th century in Scotland. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Robert Jamesson, who was listed in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a record of Scottish landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England.
In the 15th century, the name Jameson was particularly prominent in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Lanarkshire and Renfrewshire. The name was also found in the Borders region and in parts of northern England, likely due to the movement of Scottish families across the border.
Notable historical figures with the surname Jameson include Robert Jameson (1774-1854), a Scottish naturalist and mineralogist who served as Regius Professor of Natural History at the University of Edinburgh. Another notable bearer of the name was Leander Starr Jameson (1853-1917), a British colonial administrator and leader of the famous Jameson Raid into the Transvaal in 1895.
In the literary world, the name Jameson is associated with the Irish novelist and playwright James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (1882-1941), who was given the middle name "Aloysius" in honor of the Jesuit priest Aloysius Gonzaga. Joyce's friend and fellow writer Francis Stuart (1902-2000) was also known by the pen name "Jameson".
Other notable bearers of the name include John Jameson (1773-1823), the founder of the Jameson Irish Whiskey distillery in Dublin, and Sir Leander Rees Jameson (1853-1917), a British colonial administrator and leader of the Jameson Raid.
While the surname Jameson is found globally today, its origins can be traced back to medieval Scotland, where it was initially derived from the personal name James and the patronymic suffix "-son".
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jameson
Among Census respondents with the surname Jameson, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Jameson bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jameson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.9% · 10,313
- Black or African American7.6% · 958
- Two or more races4.1% · 516
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 508
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 154
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 146
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jameson
Jameson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,715
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,255
+387 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 4.49
Rank movement Down 127 places
2020
#2,785
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,595
-660 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 4.21
Rank movement Down 70 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,588 | 12,868 | 4.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,715 | 13,255 | 4.49 | +387 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 127 places |
| 2020 | #2,785 | 12,595 | 4.21 | -660 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 70 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jameson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,715 | #2,785 | -2.6% |
| Count | 13,255 | 12,595 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.49 | 4.21 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jameson bearers went from 13,255 to 12,595 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 70 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,715 to #2,785.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jameson
FAQ
Jameson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jameson?
Name Census estimates that about 14,443 living Americans carry the surname Jameson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,732 residents.
How common is Jameson?
Jameson ranks #2,785 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,595 people with the surname Jameson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,443), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Jameson.
Has Jameson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jameson went from 13,255 recorded bearers to 12,595. That is a decrease of 660 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,715 to #2,785.
What does the Census say about the background of Jameson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jameson, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.9%. The next largest groups are Black (7.6%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jameson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.9% (10,313 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jameson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.9%), Black (7.6%), Two or More Races (4.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jameson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jameson mean?
An anglicized form of the Gaelic surname Ó Séamuis, meaning "descendant of Séamus" (James). The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jameson (4.21 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Jameson?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Jameson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.