This most interesting surname is ultimately of Old Hebrew origin, and a patronymic from "James", which comes from the Latin "Jacobus" deriving from the Hebrew given name "Yaakov", meaning "supplanter or following-after". This is also the origin of the surname Jacob, and the first bearer was the younger son of the patriarch Isaac, who supplanted his elder brother Esau, tricking him out of his inheritance, his initiative showing that he was more suited to the head of a growing tribe than his senior. The "-son" ending indicated a patronymic form, that is "son of James". The personal name "Jacobus" is recorded in 1160 in Lincolnshire ("Documents illustrative of the Social and Economic History of the Danelaw"), while one James de Audithleg is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Salop in 1255. John Jameson appears in "The Register of the Freemen of York" in 1440. The name is widespread in Scotland as "Jamieson"; Alexander Jemison had a safe conduct to trade with England in 1445, according to the "Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland". William Jameson was a pioneer of treeplanting in India, while James Sligo Jameson (1856 - 1888) a naturalist and African traveller, witnessed and made sketches of a cannibal banquet. A Coat of Arms depicting a gold saltire, cantoned in chief and flanks by Roman galleys and a gold buglehorn in base was granted to John Jameson Esq. of Windfield, Galway. Their motto was "Sine Metu" meaning "Without Fear". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Jamesson, which was dated 1379, in the "Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.1327 - 1377.

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