English, Scottish, and northern Irish: patronymic from Jack . In North America, this surname has absorbed other patronymics beginning with J- in various European languages, in particular those derived from equivalents or short forms and other derivatives of the personal name Jacob , e.g. Norwegian Jacobsen or Jakobsen and, in some cases, Slovenian Jakše (from a derivative of the personal name Jakob ). This surname is also very common among African Americans (see also 2 below).

African American: from the personal name Jackson (or Andrew Jackson), adopted in honor of Andrew Jackson, the 7th president of the US; or adoption of the surname in 1 above, in many cases probably for the same reason.

History: This extremely common British name was brought over by numerous different bearers in the 17th and 18th centuries. One forebear was the father and namesake of the seventh US president, Andrew Jackson, who migrated to SC from Carrickfergus in the north of Ireland in 1765. The Confederate General Thomas ‘Stonewall’ Jackson came from VA, where his great-grandfather John, likewise of Scotch–Irish stock, had settled after emigrating to America in 1748.