Jack

Where Jack comes from

From Middle English Jak, Jakke (also Jackin, Jankyn, etc.), from Anglo-Norman Jakke, *Janke, from Middle Dutch Janke, diminutive of Jan (“John”); equivalent to John + -kin. Doublet of Yankee. It can be also used as nickname for Jacob. Though the name was originally a pet form, it has become more of an independent name. See also Middle French Hennequin, Jannequin, Middle Dutch Janneken, English Jake and Jacques.
— Wiktionary's entry for Jack
  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1876
    Jack London born
    American author, journalist and social activist
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #77 among boys — 204 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1922
    Jack Kerouac born
    American writer
  4. 2021
    Peak, #11
    9,568 babies named Jack — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2021
    The comeback
    Back to #11 after sinking to #178 in 1989.
In the dictionary
  • A unisex given name derived from a pet form of the name John. Occasionally a diminutive of other given names such as Jackson, Jacob, Jacqueline or Jonathan.
Namesakes
  • Jack London · American author, journalist and social activist, 1876–1916
  • Jack Kerouac · American writer, 1922–1969
  • Jack Ma · Chinese businessman, born 1964
  • Jack Lemmon · American actor, 1925–2001
  • Jack Kilby · American electrical engineer, 1923–2005

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.