Jasper is a given name

Given name

A given name, in Western contexts often referred to as a first name, is a personal name that specifies and differentiates between members of a group of individuals, especially in a family, all of whose members usually share the same family name...

. The name means "spotted or speckled stone" and is derived from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 iaspis, (feminine noun) It is a variation of the Persian

Persian language

Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...

 Kaspar

Casper (name)

The name Casper and the same sounding name Kasper are derived from Gaspar which in turn is from an ancient Chaldean word, "Gizbar", which according to Strong's Concordance means "Treasurer". The word "Gizbar" appears in the Hebrew version of the Old Testament Book of Ezra . In fact, the modern...

. According to the Biblical tradition Casper ( from the Persian "Gaspar" meaning 'treasurer or treasure bringer' ) is the name of one of the "Three Kings

Biblical Magi

The Magi Greek: μάγοι, magoi), also referred to as the Wise Men, Kings, Astrologers, or Kings from the East, were a group of distinguished foreigners who were said to have visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh...

", who presented Christ gifts. Casper gave frankincense

Frankincense

Frankincense, also called olibanum , is an aromatic resin obtained from trees of the genus Boswellia, particularly Boswellia sacra, B. carteri, B. thurifera, B. frereana, and B. bhaw-dajiana...

. The name Gaspar or Caspar, along with the names of the other two legendary magi, appeared for the first time in two medieval Latin texts and dates from the 9th century AD. The spell containing the name of Jaspar is a French and English transcription of the Latin word Caspar. Its Biblical reference led to its adoption as an English name in the 17th Century. There are numerous modern variations such as Γάσπαρ or Κάσπαρ (Greek), Gaspare (Italian), Kaspar (German), Jasper or Casper (English), Jesper (Scandinavian languages), Kacper (Polish), Gáspár (Hungarian) etc.

The mineral jasper

Jasper

Jasper, a form of chalcedony, is an opaque, impure variety of silica, usually red, yellow, brown or green in color; and rarely blue. This mineral breaks with a smooth surface, and is used for ornamentation or as a gemstone. It can be highly polished and is used for vases, seals, and at one time for...

 is derived from this name.

Famous people with the name Jasper or Jesper include:

Art

• Jasper Johns
  Jasper Johns
  Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed...
  
  , US artist
• Jasper Francis Cropsey
  Jasper Francis Cropsey
  Jasper Francis Cropsey was an important American landscape artist of the Hudson River School.-Biography:Cropsey was born on his father Jacob Rezeau Cropsey's farm in Rossville on Staten Island, New York, the oldest of eight children. As a young boy, Cropsey had recurring periods of poor health....
  
  , 19th century US artist

Design and fashion

• Jasper Conran
  Jasper Conran
  Jasper Alexander Thirlby Conran OBE is an English fashion designer. He is the son of the designer Sir Terence Conran and the author Shirley Conran.-Education:He was educated at Port Regis School and Bryanston School in the 1970s...
  
  , British fashion designer
• Jasper Morrison
  Jasper Morrison
  Jasper Morrison is an English product and furniture designer.Morrison was born in London, England. He was educated at Bryanston School. He received a Bachelor of Design degree from Kingston Polytechnic Design School in 1982 and a Masters degree in Design from the Royal College of Art, London, in...
  
  , British product and furniture designer

Entertainment

• Jasper Bibb, American baseball player
• Jasper Carrott
  Jasper Carrott
  Jasper Carrott OBE is a British comedian, actor, television presenter and personality.-Early life:...
  
  , British comedian
• Jesper Christensen
  Jesper Christensen
  Jesper Christensen is a Danish actor. A veteran of European cinema, he has more recently made the transition to English language projects, including The Interpreter and Revelations. He has also appeared as the mysterious villain Mr...
  
  , Danish actor
• Jasper Duncombe, 7th Baron Feversham, adult film director
• Jasper Harris
  Jasper Harris
  Jasper Harris is a British television and film actor. He was born in London, UK.Harris, who earlier received two small supporting roles in BBC productions, had his leading role debut in the religious drama Have No Fear: The Life of Pope John Paul II, in which he plays the 10-year-old Karol...
  
  , British child actor
• Jasper Maskelyne
  Jasper Maskelyne
  Jasper Maskelyne was a British stage magician in the 1930s and 1940s. He was one of an established family of stage magicians, the son of Nevil Maskelyne and a grandson of John Nevil Maskelyne. He could also trace his ancestry to the royal astronomer Nevil Maskelyne...
  
  , British stage magician
• Jasper Pääkkönen
  Jasper Pääkkönen
  Jasper Pääkkönen is a Finnish film actor who has appeared and starred in over 15 films. According to a calculation published by Finnish tabloid IltaSanomat, Pääkkönen is "the most profitable film actor in Finland" for having starred in numerous box office hits during his career...
  
  , Finnish actor
• Jasper Redd
  Jasper Redd
  Jasper Redd is an American comedian from in Knoxville, Tennessee.Jasper's brand of comedy is distinguished by his use of polyrhythmic timing. Earlier in his career, this was more pronounced...
  
  , US comedian

Finance

• Jasper Grosvenor
  Jasper Grosvenor
  Jasper Grosvenor was an American financier of the early to mid 19th century. In 1832 he partnered with Thomas Rogers and Morris Ketchum to form the manufacturing firm Rogers, Ketchum and Grosvenor which became the second most popular steam locomotive manufacturing company in North America in the...
  
  , US financier

Literature

• Jasper Fforde
  Jasper Fforde
  Jasper Fforde is a British novelist. Fforde's first novel, The Eyre Affair, was published in 2001. Fforde is mainly known for his Thursday Next novels, although he has written several books in the loosely connected Nursery Crime series and begun two more independent series: The Last Dragonslayer...
  
  , British novelist
• Jasper Griffin
  Jasper Griffin
  Jasper Griffin , was Public Orator and Professor of Classical Literature in the University of Oxford from 1992 until 2004.Jasper Griffin read Classical Moderations and Greats at Balliol College, Oxford and was Jackson Fellow at Harvard University...
  
  , British literary academic
• Jesper Harding
  Jesper Harding
  Jesper Harding was an American publisher in Philadelphia.-Biography:Harding was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and learned the printing trade from the publisher Enos Bronson and started his own business in 1818 at the age of 18...
  
  , US publisher
• Jasper Ridley
  Jasper Ridley
  Jasper Godwin Ridley was a British writer, known for historical biographies. He received the 1970 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his biography Lord Palmerston....
  
  , British historical biographer

Music

• Jesper Kyd
  Jesper Kyd
  Jesper Jakobson Kyd is a Danish video game and film score composer.Kyd combines sounds of dark ambient, electronic and symphonic music and has won many awards. He is also notable for his early work in the Amiga demoscene, where he composed a large amount of music in his teenage years, in...
  
  , Danish video game and film score composer
• Jesper Strömblad
  Jesper Strömblad
  Clas Håkan Jesper Strömblad is a Swedish musician who is currently the guitarist for the bands Dimension Zero & The Resistance...
  
  , Swedish musician

Politics

• Jasper Ewing Brady
  Jasper Ewing Brady
  Jasper Ewing Brady was a Whig member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.Jasper E. Brady was born in Sunbury, Pennsylvania. He learned the hatter's trade and taught school in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1827 and commenced practice in...
  
  , 18th century US politician
• Jesper Mattson Cruus af Edeby
  Jesper Mattson Cruus af Edeby
  Jesper Mattson Cruus af Edeby was a Swedish soldier and politician, being appointed Privy Councilor in 1612, Field Marshal in 1615, Lord High Treasurer in 1615, and Governor of Riga in 1621. In the Kalmar War he led the Swedish troops to victory against the Danish forces, led by King Christian IV...
  
  , Swedish soldier and politician
• Sir Jasper More
  Jasper More
  Sir Jasper More was a British Conservative Party politician, the son of Sir Thomas Jasper Mytten More , a Shropshire landowner, and Lady Norah Browne, daughter of Henry Browne, 5th Marquess of Sligo....
  
  , British politician
• Jasper Wolfe
  Jasper Wolfe
  Jasper Travers Wolfe was an Irish independent politician who was elected three times as Teachta Dála for Cork West from 1927–33....
  
  , Irish politician

Religion and theology

• Jasper Heywood
  Jasper Heywood
  Jasper Heywood, SJ , son of John Heywood, translated into English three plays of Seneca, the Troas , the Thyestes and Hercules Furens ....
  
  , 16th century British theologian
• Jasper Mayne
  Jasper Mayne
  Jasper Mayne was an English clergyman, translator, and a minor poet and dramatist.Mayne was baptized at Hatherleigh, Devon, on 23 November 1604, and educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford...
  
  , 17th century English clergyman
• Jesper Swedberg
  Jesper Swedberg
  Jesper Swedberg was a bishop of Skara, Sweden. He was one of Sweden's most notable churchmen. He published the first edition ever of a Swedish book of hymns in 1694, and was the father of scientist and mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.- Early life :Jesper Swedberg was born as the son of a bergsman...
  
  , Swedish bishop, father of Emanuel Swedenborg
• Jasper Wilson
  Jasper Wilson
  Jasper Wilson , was a Baptist preacher and a representative from Bulloch County in the Georgia Legislature from 1881-1885....
  
  , US Baptist preacher

Science

• Jasper Rine
  Jasper Rine
  Jasper Donald Rine is an American scientist a member of the National Academy of Sciences, and a Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development at the University of California, Berkeley....
  
  , US biologist

Sport

• Jesper Blomqvist
  Jesper Blomqvist
  Lars Jesper Blomqvist is a Swedish football player.Most recently he has been the playing assistant manager of Superettan side Hammarby from December 2009 to November 2010...
  
  , Swedish football (soccer) player
• Jesper Christiansen
  Jesper Christiansen
  Jesper Ringsborg Christiansen is a Danish professional footballer, who plays as a goalkeeper for IF Elfsborg in the Allsvenskan championship. He has previously played for Danish Superliga clubs Odense BK, Vejle BK, Viborg FF, and F.C. Copenhagen, winning four Superliga championships and two Danish...
  
  , Danish football (soccer) goalkeeper
• Jesper Garnell
  Jesper Garnell
  Jesper Garnell is a retired male lightweight boxer from Denmark, who represented his native country at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, Soviet Union....
  
  , Danish boxer
• Jesper Grønkjær
  Jesper Grønkjær
  Jesper Grønkjær is a former Danish professional football player. A pacey winger, he was able to play on the right or left wing and as a second striker. Grønkjær played a total 400 league games for a number of European clubs, most notably winning the 1999 Dutch Cup with Ajax Amsterdam and playing...
  
  , Danish football (soccer) player
• Jasper Harvey
  Jasper Harvey
  Jasper Harvey is an American football offensive lineman who is currently a free agent. He was signed by the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2006...
  
  , US football (soccer) player
• Jesper Jansson
  Jesper Jansson
  Jesper Jansson is a retired professional footballer from Sweden, who played as a defender and a midfielder during his career. He was a member of the Sweden national football team competing at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain...
  
  , Swedish football (soccer) player
• Jesper Olsen
  Jesper Olsen
  Jesper Olsen is a Danish former footballer who most notably played for Ajax of the Netherlands and Manchester United of England. Olsen was a regular left winger for the Danish national team, scoring five goals in 43 matches...
  
  , Danish football (soccer) player
• Jesper Parnevik
  Jesper Parnevik
  Jesper Bo Parnevik is a Swedish professional golfer. He spent 38 weeks in the top 10 of the Official World Golf Rankings in 2000 and 2001.-Early years:...
  
  , Swedish golfer
• Jasper Vinall
  Jasper Vinall
  Jasper Vinall was the first cricketer known to have been killed while playing the game.-Incident:...
  
  , cricketer

Other

• Jasper O'Farrell, US surveyor
• Jasper Tudor, 1st Duke of Bedford, half-brother of King Henry VI

Fictional characters

• Jasper Beardley, a character from the cartoon show, The Simpsons
• Jasper, another name for Tom from MGM's Tom and Jerry
  Tom and Jerry
  Tom and Jerry are the cat and mouse cartoon characters that were evolved starting in 1939.Tom and Jerry also may refer to:Cartoon works featuring the cat and mouse so named:* The Tom and Jerry Show...
  
  cartoons
• Jasper Jowls, a Chuck E. Cheese's
  Chuck E. Cheese's
  Chuck E. Cheese's is a chain of family entertainment centers. Chuck E...
  
   character
• Jasper, a white dog from Family Guy
  Family Guy
  Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
  
  
• Jasper, one of Cruella de Vil
  Cruella de Vil
  Cruella de Vil is a fictional character and the iconic villain in Dodie Smith's 1956 novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians, Disney's 1961 animated film adaptation One Hundred and One Dalmatians, and Disney's live-action film adaptations 101 Dalmatians and 102 Dalmatians. In all her incarnations,...
  
  s henchmen in Disney's 101 Dalmatians
• Jasper Hale, of the Cullen family in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series
• Jasper Morello, the protagonist of the short film The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
  The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
  The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello is a 2005 Australian short film. The first episode is labeled Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship.- Story :The First Voyage - Jasper Morello and the Lost Airship...
  
  

See also

All Wikipedia article titles beginning with:

• Jasper
• Jesper