as a First Name
Originally a pet form of John, but now a well‐established given name in its own right. It is derived from Middle English Jankin, later altered to Jackin, from Jan (a contracted form of Jehan ‘John’) + the diminutive suffix -kin. This led to the back-formation Jack, as if the name had contained the Old French diminutive suffix -in. It is sometimes also used as an informal pet form of James, perhaps influenced by the French form Jacques. It has been the most popular boys' name in England and Wales since 1995. Well-known bearers include the actor Jack Nicholson (b. 1937) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (b. 1940). See also Jock and Jake.
| 126th in the U.S. for 2011 |
Nicknames & variations
Quick facts
- Hundreds of thousands
- of people in the U.S have this name
- 376,993
- to be exact (as of February 2011)
- 607,717
- if you include dead people (since the government started keeping track)
- Oklahoma
- has the most people named Jack per capita
- 1930
- marked the height of its popularity
0.03%
99.97%
46%
55+
55+
16%
30-54
30-54
5%
13-29
13-29
33%
0-12
0-12
Top state populations
U.S. Distribution Map
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