Jasen
A masculine name of Slavic origin meaning "young deer".
Name Census estimates that about 4,420 living Americans carry the first name Jasen. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jasen today is around 37 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jasen births was 1979 (204 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jasen. 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 Jasen with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.4K
~ 1 in 77,546 Americans
Peak year
1979
204 babies that year
Average age
37
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,744
Tracked since 1954
Census
Jasen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,732 people with the first name Jasen, which placed it at #4,829 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
#4,829
National first-name rank
People counted
3.7K
3,732 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jasen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jasen is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Black (10.9%). 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 Jasen 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 Jasen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.7% · 2,491
- Hispanic or Latino12.1% · 451
- Black or African American10.9% · 408
- Two or more races5.2% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.0% · 150
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 39
Popularity
Jasen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jasen from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 1,703 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jasen 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 Jasen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jasens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Jasen, while Utah, North Carolina, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 82 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jasen
The name Jasen is believed to have its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly in the regions of Eastern Europe. The name is thought to be derived from the Old Slavic word "jasen," which means "ash tree" or "elm tree." This connection to nature and trees suggests that the name may have been originally given to individuals who lived in or near forests or had a strong connection with the natural world.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jasen can be found in medieval Slavic texts and historical records from the 12th and 13th centuries. During this time, the name was commonly used among the Slavic peoples, particularly in regions like Poland, Croatia, and Serbia. It is possible that the name had religious or cultural significance within these communities, although specific details are scarce.
In terms of historical figures bearing the name Jasen, one notable individual was Jasen Radonja, a Serbian nobleman and military commander who lived in the late 14th century. He played a significant role in the Serbian resistance against the Ottoman Empire and is remembered for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of Kosovo in 1389.
Another famous bearer of the name was Jasen Kazimirovich, a Polish nobleman and diplomat who lived in the 16th century. He served as an ambassador for the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and played a crucial role in negotiating treaties and maintaining diplomatic relations with neighboring countries.
In the realm of literature, Jasen Tsankov was a prominent Bulgarian writer and poet who lived from 1891 to 1965. He was known for his contributions to the modernist movement in Bulgarian literature and his works often explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition.
Moving to the 20th century, Jasen Milic was a Croatian artist and painter who lived from 1928 to 2020. He was renowned for his vibrant and expressive abstract paintings, which often drew inspiration from the natural landscapes and colors of his homeland.
Finally, Jasen Vinluan was a Filipino actor and director who lived from 1942 to 2021. He was a prominent figure in the Philippine entertainment industry and known for his performances in numerous films, television shows, and stage productions.
While the name Jasen may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and connection to nature and the Slavic cultures of Eastern Europe make it a unique and intriguing name with a fascinating background.
People
Jasen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jasen 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
Jasen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jasen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,420 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jasen 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 77,546 US residents.
Is Jasen a common name?
We classify Jasen as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,640 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jasen most popular?
The single biggest year for Jasen was 1979, when 204 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jasen is about 37 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jasen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,732 people with the name Jasen, or 1.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,829 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 Jasen 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 Jasen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jasen appears almost entirely male. Of the 3,732 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Jasen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jasen is White at 66.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.1%) and Black (10.9%). 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 Jasen most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jasen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.7% (2,491 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 Jasen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jasen a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jasen 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 Jasen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jasen 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 Jasen 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 are named Jasen?
Find out how many people share the name Jasen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.