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