Jameson
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Meaning
"son of James," a Scots-Irish surname worn smooth as a first name; it rode the 2000s -son wave carrying James's royal-everyman warmth into surname form. Jamie and James both wait inside
The story
Jameson means son of James, stacking a fashionable surname ending onto the sturdiest classic in the English-speaking world: James, the name of kings, presidents and apostles. For many people the word summons a green bottle first; John Jameson founded his Dublin whiskey distillery in 1780, and the family name has traveled on it ever since. As an American first name, Jameson is genuinely new: it scarcely appears in the records at all before the 1950s, and it idled quietly for decades after that. The surge came with the broader wave of names ending in son, and it came late and strong: Jameson climbed steeply through the 2010s and stands in the 2020s at the highest point it has ever held. It is a name that lets parents honor a James, or simply lean toward one, while sounding entirely of this moment.
Jameson across languages
One shared root links 18 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Ya'aqov, traditionally "holder of the heel, supplanter"; Late Latin split it into Jacobus and Iacomus, giving Europe both Jacob and James
The constellation
11 more branches of this family
How popular is Jameson around the world?
In the United States, 22,162 babies were named Jameson between 2020 and 2025.
Jameson is on the official records of the United States, Canada, South Australia, England and Wales, Brazil and Chile.
United States
1 in 980
In the United States, 22,162 babies were named Jameson between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jameson peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 3,100
In Canada, 118 boys named Jameson were born in 2024, the 275th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 3,7002017
In South Australia, 5 boys were registered as Jameson in 2017.
The count never rose above 8 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 22,000
In England and Wales, 27 boys named Jameson were born in 2025, ranked 1,093rd among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Brazil
1 in 100,000
At the 2022 census, 2,027 people in Brazil were named Jameson, ranked 5,069th, with a median age of 27.
Among people named Jameson living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 36 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Chile
1 in 180,000
In Chile, 1 boy was registered as Jameson in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Austria
last on record 2021
Jameson is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Ireland
last on record 2024
Jameson is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2020
Jameson is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2022
Jameson is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Jameson
Most people given the name Jameson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Jameson · Names that go with Jameson · Middle names for Jameson
The Jameson deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jameson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jameson fits with your family’s names and surname.
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