How to say it
JAS · per
/ˈdʒæs.pɚ/
Masculine
Jasper
Treasurer, or the gemstone
What it means
From the Persian ganzabara ('treasurer'), through Greek Gaspar; also the name of the polished, opaque, multicolored gemstone. Tradition identifies Jasper as one of the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus.
Jasper comes from the Persian ganzabara ('treasurer, treasure-bringer'), through Greek Gaspar. Tradition (not scripture itself, but medieval expansion of the Gospel of Matthew) names the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus as Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar; Jasper is the English form of Caspar. The English Jasper has been steady through the centuries; the gemstone shares the name through a separate Hebrew root, but the two have converged. Twilight's vampire Jasper Hale added a 2000s pop-culture anchor. The name has been climbing the US charts since 2008 and is now in the top 100.
Popularity over time
peaked at #122 in 2023, currently #129 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Pop culture
Twilight's Jasper Hale gave the name 2000s currency; the historical Magi anchor is the older one.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Saint Jasper Traditionally one of the three Magi who visited the infant Jesus
- Jasper Johns American Pop Art painter, the flag and target paintings
Spelling variants
- Caspar
- Gaspar
- Casper
Names with the same feeling
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