2000
#1,211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,476
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.81
Uncommon Last name
Jamison
Derived from the Gaelic "Mac Shéamais," meaning "son of James," an anglicized form of the personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 30,274 Americans carry the last name Jamison. That puts it at #1,307 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,322 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jamison surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jamison with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,322
Census rank
#1,307
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,400 bearers of the surname Jamison in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1307th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jamison, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jamison
The surname Jamison finds its origins in Scotland, dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Gaelic personal name "Seumas" or "Seumas," which is a Scottish variant of the name James. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced to the counties of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Jamison surname was John Jamison, who was recorded in the Registre de la Paroisse de Campvere, in the Netherlands, in 1591. This suggests that the name may have been present in Scotland even earlier, as Scots were known to travel and settle in the Low Countries during that period.
The Jamison surname is also found in various Scottish records from the 17th century onwards, such as the Hearth Tax Rolls of 1691, where a John Jamison is listed as a resident of Linlithgow. Additionally, the name appears in the Register of Sasines for the county of Ayr in 1694, where a William Jamison is mentioned.
Over the centuries, the surname has been subject to various spelling variations, including Jamesone, Jameson, Jamieson, and Jamyson. These variations were common due to the lack of standardized spelling practices in earlier times, and the name's pronunciation may have influenced its written form.
Notable individuals with the Jamison surname include:
1. George Jamison (1589-1644), a Scottish clergyman and academic who served as the Principal of the University of Glasgow.
2. William Jamison (1698-1773), a Scottish-born American politician who served as the Speaker of the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly.
3. John Jamison (1759-1839), a Scottish-American physician and soldier who served as a surgeon during the American Revolutionary War.
4. Robert Jamison (1802-1871), a Scottish-born Canadian farmer and politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada.
5. Malachi Jamison (1817-1890), an Irish-American merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the development of the city of Los Angeles, California.
While the Jamison surname is predominantly found in Scotland and areas with Scottish heritage, it has spread across the globe through migration and is now present in various parts of the world, carrying with it the rich history and legacy of its Scottish origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jamison
Among Census respondents with the surname Jamison, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Jamison bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jamison surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.8% · 14,474
- Black or African American35.8% · 9,463
- Two or more races4.8% · 1,269
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 843
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 177
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 174
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jamison
Jamison appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,697
+1,221 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 9.39
Rank movement Down 59 places
2020
#1,307
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,400
-1,297 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 8.83
Rank movement Down 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,211 | 26,476 | 9.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,270 | 27,697 | 9.39 | +1,221 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 59 places |
| 2020 | #1,307 | 26,400 | 8.83 | -1,297 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 37 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jamison surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,270 | #1,307 | -2.9% |
| Count | 27,697 | 26,400 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 9.39 | 8.83 | -5.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jamison bearers went from 27,697 to 26,400 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,270 to #1,307.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jamison
FAQ
Jamison surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jamison?
Name Census estimates that about 30,274 living Americans carry the surname Jamison. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,322 residents.
How common is Jamison?
Jamison ranks #1,307 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,400 people with the surname Jamison. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (30,274), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Jamison.
Has Jamison become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jamison went from 27,697 recorded bearers to 26,400. That is a decrease of 1,297 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,270 to #1,307.
What does the Census say about the background of Jamison?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jamison, the largest self-reported group is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Black (35.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jamison in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.8% (14,474 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jamison appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (54.8%), Black (35.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jamison (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jamison mean?
Derived from the Gaelic "Mac Shéamais," meaning "son of James," an anglicized form of the personal name. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jamison (8.83 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Jamison?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Jamison at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.