2000
#4,429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,407
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.75
Rare Last name
Jester
An occupational surname referring to a professional jokester, clown, or entertainer in medieval courts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,184 Americans carry the last name Jester. That puts it at #4,798 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 41,881 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jester 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 Jester with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.2K
1 in 41,881
Census rank
#4,798
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,137 bearers of the surname Jester in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4798th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jester, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jester
The surname Jester is of English origin, derived from the Old French word "gestour" or "jestour," meaning a reciter of tales or jester. This name first emerged in England during the late 12th century.
The earliest recorded use of the surname Jester can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1190, where a man named Richard le Gestour was listed. The name was likely given to individuals who performed as court jesters or entertainers during the medieval period.
In the 13th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Gestour, Gester, and Jestour, reflecting the evolution of the spelling over time. One notable early bearer of the name was John le Gestour, a landowner in Essex mentioned in the Feet of Fines records in 1285.
The name Jester is also associated with several place names in England, such as Jester's Hill in Buckinghamshire and Jester's Close in Oxfordshire. These place names may have been derived from individuals with the surname Jester who lived or owned land in those areas.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the surname Jester. One example is William Jester (1544-1623), an English playwright and actor who performed for Queen Elizabeth I. Another is John Jester (1592-1658), a Puritan minister and author who served as the vicar of Boxwell in Gloucestershire.
In the 18th century, Thomas Jester (1720-1805) was a prominent English merchant and landowner in Bristol. His son, William Jester (1755-1832), became a respected lawyer and served as a member of parliament for Shaftesbury.
Moving into the 19th century, George Jester (1815-1891) was a British naval officer who served in the Crimean War and later became an admiral in the Royal Navy.
While the surname Jester has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, through immigration and migration patterns.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jester
Among Census respondents with the surname Jester, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Jester 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 Jester surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 5,766
- Black or African American11.1% · 793
- Two or more races4.4% · 311
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jester
Jester 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
#4,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,587
+180 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 2.57
Rank movement Down 247 places
2020
#4,798
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,137
-450 bearers (-5.9%)
Per 100,000 2.39
Rank movement Down 122 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,429 | 7,407 | 2.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,676 | 7,587 | 2.57 | +180 bearers (+2.4%) | Down 247 places |
| 2020 | #4,798 | 7,137 | 2.39 | -450 bearers (-5.9%) | Down 122 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 Jester 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 | #4,676 | #4,798 | -2.6% |
| Count | 7,587 | 7,137 | -5.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.57 | 2.39 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jester bearers went from 7,587 to 7,137 (-5.9% change). The surname moved down 122 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,676 to #4,798.
FAQ
Jester surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jester?
Name Census estimates that about 8,184 living Americans carry the surname Jester. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 41,881 residents.
How common is Jester?
Jester ranks #4,798 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,137 people with the surname Jester. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,184), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Jester.
Has Jester become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jester went from 7,587 recorded bearers to 7,137. That is a decrease of 450 (-5.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,676 to #4,798.
What does the Census say about the background of Jester?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jester, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Jester in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (5,766 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jester appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.8%), Black (11.1%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Jester (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 Jester mean?
An occupational surname referring to a professional jokester, clown, or entertainer in medieval courts. 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 Jester (2.39 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 have the last name Jester?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Jester? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.