Recorded in the spellings of Jackson, Jacson, Jagson and Jaxon, this is a famous English and occasional Scottish, surname. It is a patronymic formed from the personal names Jaques or John, both originating from the ancient Hebrew "Yochanan", meaning "Jehovah has favoured me (with a son)". The name as a personal name was first introduced by returning Crusaders from the Holy Land in the 12th century, and grew rapidly in popularity. Early recordings include such examples as William Jagge and Robert Jacke in the Pipe Rolls of the counties of Huntingdonshire and Staffordshire in 1251 and 1302 respectively. Medieval examples of the slightly later patronymics include: Adam Jakson, a witness in the Assize Court of Staffordshire in 1351, Willelmus Jacson or Jackson, was listed in the Poll Tax returns of the county of Yorkshire in 1379, whilst Andrew Jacson was admitted to the rank of burgess of the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, in 1409. An early settler in the New World colonies was Henry Jackson, aged 29. He embarked from the port of London on the ship "Elizabeth and Ann", bound for Virginia on April 1635. Amongst the many interesting namebearers was Andrew (Stonewall) Jackson (1767 - 1845). He was the seventh president of the United States of America, from 1828 - 1836, but earlier he became a national hero when he successfully defended New Orleans against the British in 1815. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Adam Jackessone. This was dated 1327, in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk, during the reign of King Edward 111rd of England, 1327 - 1377. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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