Jam?sons

Jameson - The surname Jameson is anglicized version of the patronymic surname, 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 Jameson 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, Jamesoune, Jamison, Jamisone, Jamieson, Jamyson, Jamerson, Jemeson, Jimmerson, 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. In fact, an argument can easily be made that all those with the surname Jameson, regardless of any spelling derivatives, were not just from a father named "James," but that all of those father's were originally named either after Saint James (the disciple), or one of the many King James of Scotland and England.

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.

Our strain of the Jameson family has long used the spelling Jameson, at least from before emigration to America in the mid 1700's. Prior to that there are documented instances where the name was spelled Jamison. But it is not known if this is an incorrect spelling of the name, an incorrect translation, bad assumption or if in fact our ancestors actually used that spelling. Never the less, the correct spelling, for at least the last three centuries, for our part of this family has been JAMESON.

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

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