Jam?sons, how's that spelled?

The surname Jam?son is anglicized version of the patronymic surname, always meant to mean "the son of James." It is a surname of world wide popularity, given the universal use of the name James, in some form or another, in so many languages and cultures.

Our Jam?son surname is traditionally considered to be of Scottish origins, from a time before the Scots used surnames. Jameson, or the variations on this spelling (Jamesone, Jamison, Jamieson, Jamyson, Jamerson, Jimmerson, etc., etc.), is the English translation of the Gaelic word MacKames or Machamish. The 'Mac' prefix meaning 'son of.' Kames or -hamish which in Gaelic is James, therefore son of James or Jameson. Alternately Maccamie, Mckkamy, Mackimmie, Macimmie and other variations meaning 'son of' Jamie were the root. James was a very common name in old Scotland, given it's importance as St. James of biblical meaning and because of the several Scottish and later English Kings from the mid 1400's into the 18th century. It is often said the name was taken by some in honor of the popular King(s). Who the actual 'James' or 'Jamie' in the name, or the original untranslated version of same, is not usually known, although it is often assumed to be someone important, perhaps a clan chief or elder or even royalty, as in the case of at least one Jamesone family.[1]

The original use of a surname in Scotland was not necessarily handed down from generation to generation, until about the mid 1300's, when a need to identify distinct families for the purpose of taxation and probably other civic needs, like census and conscriptions, became important. Because of it's patronymic nature, the surname Jameson developed widely without regards to a single origin. Thus, there are many totally unrelated families with this surname. Modern genetic testing has conclusively proven this to be true.

Go here for a more detail explanation about the definition of our Jameson family.

Go here for details on early Jameson family naming traditions and customs.