Find out how popular the last name Jesser is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jesser.

Jesser, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Jesser surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jesser in America

Jesser is the 48060th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jesser surname appeared 440 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Jesser.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jesser to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Jesser

The surname Jesser can be traced back to the early medieval period in the region of Lower Saxony, Germany. It is believed to have originated from the Old German word "jese," which referred to a type of hunting falcon or hawk. This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname or occupational name to someone who worked with falcons or hawks, possibly a falconer or a hunter.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jesser can be found in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of historical documents from the city-state of Bremen, dated around the 13th century. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Jesere," "Jessere," and "Jeszere," reflecting the phonetic variations and regional dialects of the time.

During the 14th century, the name Jesser began to spread beyond Lower Saxony, appearing in records from other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. One notable bearer of the name was Hans Jesser, a merchant and alderman from the city of Lübeck, who lived in the late 15th century.

As the name Jesser traveled across Europe, it also took on different spellings and variations. In England, for instance, the name was sometimes recorded as "Jessor" or "Jessore," which may have been influenced by the Norman-French pronunciation of the name.

Some other notable individuals with the surname Jesser throughout history include:

1. Johann Jesser (c. 1520 - 1587), a German theologian and reformer from Saxony.
2. Gottfried Jesser (1597 - 1658), a German composer and organist from Silesia.
3. Heinrich Jesser (1784 - 1857), a German Orientalist and linguist from Saxony.
4. Adolph Jesser (1836 - 1899), a German-American Civil War veteran and lawyer from Wisconsin.
5. Else Jesser (1902 - 1990), a German actress and film producer active in the early 20th century.

While the surname Jesser is not among the most common surnames today, it has a rich history that can be traced back to the medieval period in Lower Saxony and its association with falconry and hunting.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jesser

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Jesser.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Jesser was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Jesser has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Jesser was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jesser, please contact us.

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