Jamison
A masculine name of Scottish origin meaning "son of James".
Name Census estimates that about 21,807 living Americans carry the first name Jamison. It is a predominantly male name (91.4% of registrations). The average person named Jamison today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jamison births was 2017 (756 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jamison. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jamison with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
22K
~ 1 in 15,718 Americans
Peak year
2017
756 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#758
Tracked since 1931
Census
Jamison in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 18,238 people with the first name Jamison, which placed it at #1,695 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
#1,695
National first-name rank
People counted
18K
18,238 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamison
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamison is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Jamison 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 Jamison at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.1% · 13,700
- Black or African American10.1% · 1,842
- Two or more races6.9% · 1,260
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 1,000
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 229
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 207
Gender
Gender distribution for Jamison
Jamison leans heavily male at 91.4% of total registrations, but 1,931 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jamison as a male name
- Ranked #758 in 2024
- 335 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (712 births)
Jamison as a female name
- Ranked #5,671 in 2024
- 22 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2005 (104 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamison leans strongly male. 16,447 people counted with this name were male (90.2%), compared with 1,794 female bearers (9.8%).
Popularity
Jamison: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jamison from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 6,776 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jamison remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jamison 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 Jamison during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jamisons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Jamison, while District of Columbia, New Mexico, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 383 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jamison
The name Jamison finds its roots in the Gaelic language, originating in Scotland and Ireland. It is derived from the surname "Jameson," which itself has its origins in the medieval personal name "James" or "Jacob." The name came into widespread use during the Middle Ages, around the 12th to 15th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jamison can be traced back to the 14th century, when a Scottish nobleman named Jamison of Lochalsh was mentioned in historical records. The name gained popularity in Scotland and Ireland, particularly among families with ties to the clans and noble houses of the region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Jamison Cunningham played a significant role in the Scottish Reformation, advocating for religious reform and the establishment of Presbyterianism. He was a prominent figure in the Church of Scotland and left a lasting impact on the country's religious landscape.
As the name spread across the British Isles, it found its way into various literary works and historical accounts. One notable mention comes from the 17th century, when the English playwright William Shakespeare included a character named Jamison in his play "Cymbeline," further cementing the name's place in cultural history.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the name Jamison. One such figure was John Jamison (1822-1890), an American businessman and entrepreneur who played a crucial role in the development of the city of Atlanta, Georgia. Another notable Jamison was William Jamison (1841-1909), a British naval officer and explorer who conducted expeditions in the Arctic regions.
In the realm of literature, the name Jamison has been immortalized by authors such as James Joyce, who featured a character named Jamison in his famous novel "Ulysses," published in 1922. Additionally, the American writer John Cheever included a character named Jamison in his short story collection "The Wapshot Chronicle," published in 1957.
While the name Jamison has its origins in the British Isles, it has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by immigrants and adopted by families of diverse cultural backgrounds. Its rich history and cultural significance continue to make it a popular choice for parents seeking a name with a deep-rooted heritage.
People
Jamison + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jamison 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
Jamison: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jamison?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21,807 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jamison 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 15,718 US residents.
Is Jamison a common name?
We classify Jamison as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 22,398 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jamison most popular?
The single biggest year for Jamison was 2017, when 756 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jamison is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jamison in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 18,238 people with the name Jamison, or 6.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,695 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 Jamison 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 Jamison?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jamison leans strongly male. 16,447 people counted with this name were male (90.2%), compared with 1,794 female bearers (9.8%). 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 Jamison?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jamison is White at 75.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (6.9%). 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 Jamison most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jamison in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.1% (13,700 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 Jamison in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jamison a male name?
Yes, 91.4% of people registered as Jamison 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 Jamison still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jamison 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 Jamison 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 share the name Jamison?
You can see how many people share the name Jamison on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.