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Jacobson Family History

Jacobson Surname Meaning

English, Swedish, Dutch, and Jewish (Ashkenazic): patronymic from the personal name Jacob denoting ‘Jacob's son’. In North America, this surname has absorbed various cognates from other languages including Scandinavian (see 2 below) and in some cases Croatian Jakobović (which is from the personal name Jakob).

Americanized form of Swedish Jacobsson or Jakobsson and Danish, Norwegian, North German, or Dutch Jacobsen or Jakobsen, all cognates of 1 above.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Jacobson family from?

You can see how Jacobson families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Jacobson family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Jacobson families were found in USA in 1920. In 1840 there were 23 Jacobson families living in New York. This was about 77% of all the recorded Jacobson's in USA. New York had the highest population of Jacobson families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Jacobson surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
  • 1840
  • 1880
  • 1920
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What did your Jacobson ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Jacobson. 15% of Jacobson men worked as a Farmer and 9% of Jacobson women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Jacobson were Carpenter and Maid.

View Census Data for Jacobson | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Farmer
    15%
  • Laborer
    9%
  • Salesman
    8%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Stenographer
    9%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Teacher
    6%
  • Maid
    5%

What Jacobson family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 252,000 census records available for the last name Jacobson. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Jacobson census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search US census records for Jacobson

Passenger Lists

There are 69,000 immigration records available for the last name Jacobson. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Jacobson immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 38,000 military records available for the last name Jacobson. For the veterans among your Jacobson ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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