Meaning, Origin And History Of The Name Jack

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Jack NamePopularityRelated NamesRelatedRatingsCommentsNamesakesName Days 77%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage English Pronounced Pron. /ˈd͡ʒæk/ [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

Expand Links Derived from Jackin (earlier Jankin), a medieval diminutive of John [1]. There could be some early influence from the unrelated French name Jacques [2]. It is often regarded as an independent name. During the Middle Ages it was very common, and it became a slang word meaning "man", as seen in the terms jack-o'-lantern, jack-in-the-box, lumberjack and so on. It was frequently used in fairy tales and nursery rhymes, such as Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat.American writers Jack London (1876-1916) and Jack Kerouac (1922-1969) were two famous bearers of this name. It is also borne by the actor Jack Nicholson (1937-) and the golfer Jack Nicklaus (1940-). Apart from Nicklaus, none of these famous bearers were given the name Jack at birth.In the United Kingdom this form has been bestowed more frequently than John since the 1990s, being the most popular name for boys from 1996 to 2008.

Related Names

Family Tree·Details VariantJakeDiminutiveJackieOther Languages & CulturesGjon(Albanian) Yohannes(Amharic) Yahia, Yahya, Yuhanna(Arabic) Hovhannes(Armenian) Xuan(Asturian) Ion, Jon, Ganix, Iban(Basque) Ivan(Belarusian) Jehohanan, Johanan, John(Biblical) Ioannes(Biblical Greek) Yehochanan, Yochanan(Biblical Hebrew) Iohannes(Biblical Latin) Yann(Breton) Ioan, Ivan, Yoan(Bulgarian) Joan, Jan(Catalan) Jowan(Cornish) Ghjuvan, Ghjuvanni(Corsican) Ivan(Croatian) Ivan, Jan(Czech) Ivan, Jan, Jens, Johan, Johannes, Jon(Danish) Jan, Johan, Johannes(Dutch) Johano(Esperanto) Ivan, Jaan, Johannes, Juhan, Jaanus(Estonian) Jóannes, Jógvan, Jóhannes, Jón(Faroese) Jone(Fijian) Jani, Johannes, Joni, Jouni, Juhana, Juhani(Finnish) Jean, Yann, Yoan, Yoann, Yohan, Yohann, Yvan, Jeannot(French) Xan, Xoán(Galician) Ivane, Joni(Georgian) Jan, Jens, Johann, Johannes(German) Giannis, Ioannis, Yannis, Yiannis(Greek) Yahaya(Hausa) Keoni(Hawaiian) Yochanan(Hebrew) Iván, János(Hungarian) Jens, Jóhann, Jóhannes, Jón(Icelandic) Yahya, Yohanes(Indonesian) Eoin, Seán, Sean, Shane(Irish) Giovanni, Ivan, Ivano(Italian) Johannes, Joannes(Late Roman) Ivans, Jānis, Žanis(Latvian) Sjang, Sjeng(Limburgish) Jonas(Lithuanian) Ivan, Jovan(Macedonian) Yahya(Malay) Ġwann(Maltese) Ean, Juan(Manx) Hone(Maori) Hann, Jackin, Jan, Jankin, Jon(Medieval English) Jehan(Medieval French) Ivan, Jan, Jens, Johan, Johannes, Jon, Jone(Norwegian) Joan(Occitan) Yahya(Persian) Jin(Picard) Iwan, Jan(Polish) Ivan, João(Portuguese) Geovane, Ruan(Portuguese (Brazilian)) Yahya(Quranic) Ioan, Ion, Ivan(Romanian) Ioann, Ivan(Russian) Juhán(Sami) Sione(Samoan) Giuanne, Juanne(Sardinian) Ian, Jock, Jockie, Jocky(Scottish) Eòin, Iain, Seoc(Scottish Gaelic) Ivan, Jovan(Serbian) Ivan, Ján(Slovak) Ivan, Jan, Janez, Žan, Anže, Anžej(Slovene) Jan(Sorbian) Iván, Juan(Spanish) Jhon(Spanish (Latin American)) Yohana(Swahili) Ivan, Jan, Jens, Johan, Johannes, Jon(Swedish) Sione(Tongan) Yahya(Turkish) Ivan(Ukrainian) Djan, Djhan, Djihan(Walloon) Evan, Ieuan, Ioan, Siôn(Welsh) Surname DescendantsJack, Jackman, Jackson, Jakeman(English) User SubmissionJack

Popularity

US Animations·Details Last ranked #14 in 2024 Australia (NSW) Last ranked #83 in 2024 Belgium Last ranked #5 in 2023 Canada Last ranked #22 in 2024 England & Wales Last ranked #476 in 1970 France Last ranked #1 in 2024 Ireland Last ranked #52 in 2025 Netherlands Last ranked #7 in 2025 New Zealand Last ranked #2 in 2023 Northern Ireland Last ranked #65 in 2023 Quebec, Canada Last ranked #7 in 2024 Scotland Last ranked #48 in 2025 Sweden Last ranked #937 in 1933 (f) #15 in 2024 (m) United States

People think this name is

Rate·Details classic youthful informal common natural strong rough simple

Name Days

Name Days? Norway: July 25

Images

Depiction of Jack and the Bean Stalk by Walter Crane (1875)Depiction of Jack and the Bean Stalk by Walter Crane (1875)

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Sources & References

  1. Withycombe, Elizabeth Gidley. The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. Oxford, 1945, page 75.
  2. Reaney, P. H. and R. M. Wilson. A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford, 1997, page 251.
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