Meaning and history
Jack is derived from Jackin, an earlier form of Jankin, a medieval diminutive of John, though it may also have been influenced by the unrelated French name Jacques; it is often treated as an independent name. Common in the Middle Ages, it later became a slang term for “man,” appearing in words such as jack-o’-lantern, jack-in-the-box, and lumberjack, and it was a familiar name in fairy tales and nursery rhymes including Jack and the Beanstalk, Jack and Jill, Little Jack Horner, and Jack Sprat. Notable bearers include the writers Jack London and Jack Kerouac, the actor Jack Nicholson, and the golfer Jack Nicklaus, though only Nicklaus was given Jack at birth. In the United Kingdom, Jack has been more common than John since the 1990s and was the most popular boys’ name from 1996 to 2008.
20062006: 10,837 births, rank #36
2007: 10,671 births, rank #38
2008: 9,897 births, rank #39
2009: 9,029 births, rank #42
2010: 8,520 births, rank #45
20112011: 8,185 births, rank #45
2012: 7,941 births, rank #46
2013: 8,577 births, rank #40
2014: 8,753 births, rank #41
2015: 8,514 births, rank #40
20162016: 8,430 births, rank #38
2017: 8,477 births, rank #36
2018: 8,894 births, rank #28
2019: 9,404 births, rank #19
2020: 8,945 births, rank #21
20212021: 9,568 births, rank #11
2022: 8,936 births, rank #15
2023: 8,715 births, rank #14
2024: 8,472 births, rank #15
20252025: 8,748 births, rank #15
Jack has made a dramatic comeback. After first appearing in the US records in 1880, it fell to #179 by 1989, before climbing to #15 in 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1927, with 12,802 births.