Jackson
A classic patronymic surname meaning “son of Jack,” with Jack originally a pet form of John or James.
The #19 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 436 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jackson is an English patronymic surname built from the familiar medieval nickname Jack plus the suffix -son, meaning “son of.” In older sources, Jack is linked mainly to John, though some writers also noted a possible connection with James through French Jacques. The literal sense is therefore “son of Jack,” ultimately referring to a man named John, James, or a related pet form.
History
The name is long established in England and became common enough to produce many regional spellings and dialect forms. It spread widely in Britain and later became one of the most familiar surnames in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. Historical surname writers generally treated it as a straightforward patronymic.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname writers often cited Jackson as one of the clearest examples of an English patronymic formed from a nickname rather than a formal given name.
From the historical record
“JACKS. The genitive form of Jack, JACKSON. The son of John, or more proijerly of James (Jacques). See Jack. The Loud. Direct, has nearly 200 traders of this name, JACOB. JACOBS, The first occurrence of this baptismal name in England, is I think in Domesday. It is now very com- mon as a surname, especially in Jewish…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Jackson
- Michael Jackson (1958–2009)
- Andrew Jackson (1767–1845)
- 50 Cent (b. 1975)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.