Given name & surname · also Hebrew
Jason
“I heal”
Jason is a masculine given name from Ancient Greek, meaning “I heal.” It is used in English, French, Portuguese, Cebuano, and 1 other language.
Original GreekΙάσονας
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Greek, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
In English usage, Jason developed from Ἰάσων.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Jason appears in Romans 16:21, Isaiah 14:16, Revelation 22:2 and 2 other passages.
- Romans 16:21
- Isaiah 14:16
- Revelation 22:2
- Psalm 16:10
- Luke 4:16-30
From biblical name research
Jason through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,057,058
- 1,052,030 boys · 5,028 girls
- Most popular year
- 1977
- 55,944 babies
- 2025
- 2,224
- #165 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 2,224 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 165 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 35.9% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 55,631 in 1977. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (296). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 898,652 as a first name in 2020; 3,539 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jason’s family of names
In English usage, Jason has a diminutive in Jay. In Portuguese usage, Jason shares an earlier linguistic root with Jasão. In English usage, Jason has a related form in Jayson.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jason has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
Ancient Greekwhere Jason comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 18
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 8
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jason
- Jason BatemanAmerican actor (born 1969)
- Jason StathamEnglish actor (born 1967)
- Jason MomoaAmerican actor (born 1979)
- Jason RobardsAmerican actor (1922–2000)
- Jason AlexanderAmerican actor, comedian, director and television hostborn 1959
- Jason SegelAmerican actor (born 1980)
- Jason DeruloAmerican singer-songwriterborn 1989
- Jason IsaacsBritish actor (born 1963)
- Jason LeeAmerican actor, comedian and professional skateboarderborn 1970
Characters named Jason: Jason Voorhees (main character of the Friday the 13th series), Jason Bourne (fictional novel and movie character created by Robert Ludlum), Jason Todd (DC Comics), Jay Garrick (the DC Comics universe).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jason, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Aaron
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Matthew
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Jeremy
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Benjamin
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Philip
“one who loves horses”
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Christopher
“one who bears Christ inside”
>99% boys