Jacobson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jacob.”
The #767 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 6,890 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jacobson is a patronymic surname built from the personal name Jacob plus the English suffix -son, literally meaning “son of Jacob.” Jacob itself comes through Hebrew and was widely used in medieval Europe as a baptismal name. In older surname dictionaries, Jacobson is treated straightforwardly as a descendant-name from Jacob, with no special complication in the form itself.
History
The surname appears in English and Scots records alongside other Jacob-derived names such as Jacobs and Jacoby. In some English contexts, especially in city directories and later records, it can be associated with Jewish families because Jacob was a common Jewish given name, but the surname is not exclusively Jewish. Related forms also occur in Scandinavian and Germanic naming traditions, where Jacobsen and Jacobsohn are common variants.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Old surname dictionaries group Jacobson with a whole family of Jacob-based names, including Jacobs, Jacoby, Jacobsen, and Jacobsohn.
From the historical record
“families. JACOBSON. See Jacob. JAFPRAY, The same as Geoffrey or Jeflery. JAGGER, JAGGERS. A north-coun- try word for a man who works draught horses for hire. Halliw. JAGO. " As for the name Jago, wlietlier it be derived from the Celtish-British lago, and signifies .James, or from ijago or jago^ a”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Jacobson
- Peter Jacobson (b. 1965)
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