Jason
Jason was the 165th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,224 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1977 (55,631). Over the last ten years it has moved down 79 places. More babies were named Jason in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Meaning healer · Greek
Say it JAY-suhn /ˈdʒeɪsən/
- Rank in 2025
- #165 boys, down 46 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 2,224boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 197755,631 babies
- Total since 1880
- 1,057,058babies recorded
What does the name Jason mean?
Jason comes from the Greek Iason, which DMNES and Wikipedia derive from the verb iaomai, 'I heal', related to iatros, 'physician'. In Greek myth Jason is the hero who leads the Argonauts in search of the Golden Fleece. Wiktionary notes that the Jason mentioned in the New Testament (Acts 17 and Romans 16) was probably a Jew whose Hebrew name was Joshua, rendered in Greek. A separate English surname Jason may come from James plus -son.
Ἰάσων (Ancient Greek, “Iason”)ἰάομαι (Ancient Greek, “I heal”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jace, Jase, Jayce, Iason, Jasen.
See also: Greek names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Jason', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jason', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Jason (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Nicknames for Jason
The usual nicknames for Jason are Jase and Jay. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Jason in the last five years, 33 were named Jay, against 9 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jase | Modern | #717 | 2,404 |
| Jay · also for Jayden, Jaden, Jalen | Traditional | #392 | 4,229 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jasons go by each one.
Jason popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 5,028 since 1953.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #165 | 2,224 |
| 2020 | #119 | 3,105 |
| 2010 | #69 | 6,279 |
| 2000 | #39 | 9,778 |
| 1990 | #46 | 10,694 |
| 1980 | #3 | 48,164 |
| 1970 | #13 | 27,272 |
| 1960 | #259 | 940 |
| 1950 | #467 | 205 |
| 1940 | #617 | 93 |
| 1930 | #583 | 106 |
| 1920 | #760 | 76 |
| 1910 | #591 | 24 |
| 1900 | #663 | 15 |
| 1890 | #580 | 12 |
| 1880 | #386 | 20 |
How popular is Jason, counting every spelling?
Jason is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #173 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #165 for Jason on its own. Together these spellings went to 2,320 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jason | 2,224 | #165 | 12,628 |
| Jacen | 30 | #3,695 | 215 |
| Jasen | 18 | #5,297 | 96 |
| Jasson | 20 | #4,930 | 82 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jason?
2,224 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jason (0.62 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Jason born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jason.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jason?
About 970,600 people born in the US named Jason are alive today, with a median age of 46; half are between 37 and 51. That makes Jason mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jason by state
How common Jason was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Alaska (2.4×), Delaware (1.9×), Maryland (1.7×), Nevada (1.6×), Massachusetts (1.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Wisconsin, Wyoming, Minnesota.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jason: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jason, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jason · Sibling names for Jason
Questions about the name Jason
What does Jason mean?
Jason means “healer” (Greek origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jason?
Jason was the 165th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 2,224 babies. Its best year was 1974, when it ranked 2nd; the most babies were born in 1977 (55,631). Over the last ten years it has moved down 79 places. More babies were named Jason in the 1970s than in any other decade.
Is Jason a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Jason in the US.
Where is Jason most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jason was most common in Alaska (3.53 per 1,000 boys), followed by Delaware and Maryland.