FastNamesJackson
English name meaning "Patronymic surname adopted as a given name, derived from Middle English Jack and son, meaning 'son of Jack' (diminutive of John, 'Yahweh is gracious').". Ranked 36th for boys in 2025.
Meaning and origin of Jackson
Patronymic surname adopted as a given name, derived from Middle English Jack and son, meaning 'son of Jack' (diminutive of John, 'Yahweh is gracious').
Linguistically, Jackson is classified under English naming traditions. It is typically pronounced "JAK-suhn".
Popularity and ranking
In official US Social Security birth records from 1880 through 2025, Jackson has been given to a total of 297,220 boys. It has also been given to 778 girls.
Peak year: Jackson reached its highest relative share among boys in 2013, when 12,610 babies received the name (6,666 per million births).
All-time best rank: 14th place, first achieved in 2021.
Recent standing (2025): Ranked 36th with 6,582 births. Ten years earlier in 2015, it ranked 17th (down 19 spots).
Busiest decade: More boys were named Jackson in the 2010s than in any other decade (116,264 births).
| Decade | Recorded births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 371 |
| 1890s | 311 |
| 1900s | 404 |
| 1910s | 1,453 |
| 1920s | 2,327 |
| 1930s | 1,713 |
| 1940s | 1,791 |
| 1950s | 1,347 |
| 1960s | 992 |
| 1970s | 1,580 |
| 1980s | 3,224 |
| 1990s | 23,595 |
| 2000s | 94,488 |
| 2010s | 116,264 |
| 2020s | 47,360 |
Source: Social Security Administration, national baby name data, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
Where Jackson is most common in the US
Accounting for when Jackson was in fashion nationally, it has been most heavily concentrated in the following states (measured against the expected rate from each state's births):
- Vermont: 2.0 times the national rate (646 births since 1910).
- New Hampshire: 1.9 times the national rate (1,668 births since 1910).
- Alabama: 1.8 times the national rate (7,287 births since 1910).
- South Dakota: 1.6 times the national rate (1,173 births since 1910).
- Wyoming: 1.6 times the national rate (507 births since 1910).
Source: Social Security Administration, baby names by state, data through 2025. Names given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a state in a year aren't published, so totals are a little lower than actual births.
How many people have the name Jackson?
About 286,000 living American boys and men share the name Jackson. Additionally, an estimated 760 living American girls and women share the name.
The median age of an American named Jackson is 15 years old.
Estimated from Social Security Administration records (1880–2025) and official SSA cohort mortality tables.
History of the name Jackson
Jackson originated in medieval England as a patronymic surname signifying 'son of Jack'. Jack arose in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as a common pet form of John (via Anglo-Norman Jankin and French Jacques), meaning 'Yahweh has been gracious'. Early records of the surname include Adam Jackessone in Yorkshire in 1327 and Robert Jacson in 1379.
In the United States, the surname was elevated to supreme national prominence by General Andrew Jackson (1767–1845), the 7th President of the United States and hero of the Battle of New Orleans, inspiring nineteenth-century parents across the American frontier to name boys Jackson in his honor. In the twentieth century, the name gained profound artistic resonance through abstract expressionist master Jackson Pollock (1912–1956).
In modern American naming records, Jackson staged an extraordinary ascent from a modest traditional surname-name into an elite national favorite. Entering the national top one hundred in 1996, Jackson climbed steadily to reach the top twenty in 2010 and broke into the national top ten in 2013. When combined with its popular spelling variant Jaxon, the name has consistently ranked among the top five most bestowed masculine names in the United States over the past decade.
Notable people named Jackson
- Jackson Pollock (1912–1956), American painter and abstract expressionist pioneer
- Jackson Browne (1948–), American singer-songwriter and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee
- Jackson Holliday (2003–), American Major League Baseball player and first overall draft pick
- Jackson Rathbone (1984–), American actor and musician
Variants and related names
Spelling variants
Diminutives and nicknames
Related names
Sources and references
- Patrick Hanks, Kate Hardcastle, Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of First Names (2006), p. 135.
- P. H. Reaney, R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames (1997), p. 250.
- Douglas Harper. Online Etymology Dictionary. Reference link.