Jason (given name)
Jason is a common masculine given name. It comes from Greek Ἰάσων (Iásōn), meaning "healer", from the verb ἰάομαι (iáomai), "heal", "cure", cognate with Ἰασώ (Iasṓ), the goddess of healing, and ἰατρός (iatrós), "healer", "physician". Forms of related words have been attested in Greek from as far back as Mycenaen (in Linear B) and Arcadocypriot (in the Cypriot syllabary) Greek: 𐀂𐀊𐀳, i-ja-te and i-ja-te-ra-ne, respectively, both regarded as standing for inflected forms of ἰατήρ, "healer".
Sculpture of Jason by Bertel Thorvaldsen | |
| Pronunciation | English: /ˈdʒeɪsən/ JAY-sən French: [ʒazɔ̃] |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Greek |
| Meaning | "Healer" |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Jaeson, Jaison, Jayson, Jacyn, Jacin, Jasen |
| Nickname(s) | Jay, Jase, Jace |
| Related names | Jacin, Jasen |
The name was borne in Greek mythology by Jason, the great Thessalian hero who led the Argonauts in the quest for the Golden Fleece. The name is also found in the New Testament, as the house of a man named Jason was used as a refuge by Paul and Silas. In his case, it could come as a Hellenized form of Joshua.
Its adoption in the United Kingdom peaked during the 1970s, when it was among the top 20 male names, but it had fallen out of the top 100 by 2003.
Jason is the most common spelling; however, there are many variant spellings such as Jaeson, Jaison, Jayson, and Jacyn. Jay and Jace are the common diminutives.
A feminine name that sounds similar is Jacin, derived from the Portuguese-Spanish name Jacinta or the Anglicized version Jacinda, meaning hyacinth.