Jashon
A masculine name of unknown origin, with possible meanings like "gift" or "healer".
Name Census estimates that about 938 living Americans carry the first name Jashon. It is a predominantly male name (99.4% of registrations). The average person named Jashon today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jashon births was 2003 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jashon. 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.
People living today
938
~ 1 in 365,410 Americans
Peak year
2003
64 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,588
Tracked since 1976
Census
Jashon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 765 people with the first name Jashon, which placed it at #15,141 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
#15,141
National first-name rank
People counted
765
765 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
80.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jashon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jashon is Black at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Jashon 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 Jashon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American80.5% · 616
- Two or more races10.8% · 83
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 28
- White3.4% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Jashon
Out of the 952 babies given the name Jashon since 1880, 99.4% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Jashon as a male name
- Ranked #8,588 in 2024
- 9 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (64 births)
Jashon as a female name
- Ranked #12,730 in 1997
- 6 female births in 1997
- Peak: 1997 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jashon leans strongly male. 728 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 45 female bearers (5.8%).
Popularity
Jashon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jashon from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 479 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jashon 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 Jashon during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jashons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. North Carolina, California, Georgia recorded the most babies named Jashon, while Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 11 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jashon
The name Jashon is a relatively uncommon given name with roots in various cultures and languages. Its origins can be traced back to ancient Hebrew, where it is believed to have evolved from the name "Yashon," which means "to be old" or "ancient." This connection to antiquity and longevity may have contributed to the name's enduring appeal across different societies.
In some Middle Eastern regions, the name Jashon is thought to be a variation of the Arabic name "Yassin," which itself is derived from the Hebrew name "Yasin." This Arabic name holds significant religious significance, as it is associated with the 36th chapter of the Quran, known as "Surah Yasin." The chapter is revered for its spiritual guidance and is often recited during times of hardship or distress.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jashon can be found in ancient Persian texts, where it was used to refer to a prince or nobleman. This suggests that the name may have held connotations of nobility and prestige in certain regions of the Middle East during ancient times.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Jashon. One prominent example is Jashon ibn Khalid al-Qaissi (circa 690-750 CE), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Iraq who was highly regarded for his mastery of the Arabic language and his contributions to literature.
Another influential figure was Jashon ibn Muqaffah (circa 720-785 CE), a Persian writer and philosopher who played a crucial role in the translation of ancient Greek and Persian texts into Arabic during the Abbasid Caliphate. His work helped facilitate the transfer of knowledge and ideas between different civilizations.
In the realm of religion, Jashon ibn Khubaib al-Ansari (circa 610-690 CE) was a prominent companion of the Prophet Muhammad and a respected Islamic scholar. He is renowned for his transmission of hadith (sayings and teachings of the Prophet) and his contributions to the understanding of Islamic jurisprudence.
Moving to more recent times, Jashon Barnes (born 1977) is an American former professional basketball player who enjoyed a successful career in the NBA, playing for teams such as the Golden State Warriors and Philadelphia 76ers.
Finally, Jashon Cornell (born 1997) is a contemporary American football defensive end who played college football at Ohio State University and was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the 2020 NFL Draft.
While the name Jashon may not be as widely recognized as some other given names, its rich history and diverse cultural influences have contributed to its enduring presence across various regions and time periods. From ancient Persian nobility to modern-day athletes, the name has been borne by individuals who have left their mark in various fields.
People
Jashon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jashon 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
Jashon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jashon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 938 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jashon 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 365,410 US residents.
Is Jashon a common name?
We classify Jashon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 952 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jashon most popular?
The single biggest year for Jashon was 2003, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jashon is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jashon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 765 people with the name Jashon, or 0.25 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,141 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 Jashon 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 Jashon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jashon leans strongly male. 728 people counted with this name were male (94.2%), compared with 45 female bearers (5.8%). 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 Jashon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jashon is Black at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (10.8%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Jashon most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jashon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (616 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 Jashon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jashon a male name?
Yes, 99.4% of people registered as Jashon 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 Jashon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jashon 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 Jashon 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 have Jashon as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Jashon, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.