Jasper
Meaning
treasurer; gemstone
Goes by Jas
The story
Jasper is a stone before it is a person. The word travels from Persian into Greek as iaspis and names a banded, opaque quartz that ancient jewelers cut for seals. The name reached English partly through tradition rather than scripture: the gospels never number or name the wise men, and the naming happened centuries later in Western legend, where the one who brings frankincense is usually Caspar or Jasper. So a name many people file as biblical is really medieval storytelling. In US records Jasper kept a steady middle life, between about 1,200 and 3,800 babies a decade from the 1910s through the 1990s, and then moved sharply: 5,300 in the 2000s and more than 17,000 so far this decade. Our own data files it among horse names and cat names, which fits. It sounds like something with its own opinions.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jasper peaked in the 2020s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
130 people · the #34,267 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,000,000 · median age 12
Among people named Jasper living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 36 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Jasper
Most people given the name Jasper 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.
The Jasper deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jasper 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 Jasper fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Jasper · Nicknames for Jasper · Middle names for Jasper
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