Jack
Torn between Jack and another name? Compare them side by side →
Meaning
medieval English diminutive of John, Yahweh is gracious; later an independent name
Goes by Jackie. See all nicknames
Immortalized by both Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997) and Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean (2003).
The story
Jack has spent centuries refusing to stay in one role. It began as a medieval English diminutive of John, with possible early French influence, and inherited John's root meaning, Yahweh is gracious. Then the short form became independent and entered ordinary English as a word for a man. It also learned to work. The phrase jack-of-all-trades has described a handy, versatile person for at least four centuries, while fairy tales and nursery rhymes repeatedly cast Jack as the fellow who acts. In Jack and the Beanstalk, a poor boy exchanges the family cow for magic beans, an exchange that sends the story upward. None of those roles predicts the character of a person named Jack. Together, though, they explain the name's extraordinary cultural range: a family diminutive, an everyday noun, a worker in an idiom, and a fairy-tale boy climbing into trouble.
The formal names behind Jack
Jack is an established short form of each of these names.
John · Hebrew origin · God is gracious
Jackson · English origin · "son of Jack," a surname built on the medieval everyman form of John; presidential, bluesy, and frontier-flavored, it led the 2000s surname wave for boys and spun off spellings from Jaxon to Jaxson. Jack comes free
Jack across languages
One shared root links 47 names across 10 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Yochanan "God is gracious", carried through Greek Ioannes and Latin Iohannes into nearly every European language
The constellation
37 more branches of this family
How popular is Jack around the world?
In the United States, 53,448 babies were named Jack between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 475 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 2nd most common name among boys that year.
Jack is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales, New Zealand, New South Wales, Norway, Austria, France, Mexico City, Chile, Argentina, Spain, Poland and Brazil.
United States
1 in 410
In the United States, 53,448 babies were named Jack between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jack peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. Jack reached 116,741 US births in the 1920s, its high point before 1930, fell to 16,060 in the 1980s, and was back at 85,781 in the 2010s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 110
In Ireland, 475 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 2nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
South Australia
1 in 1702017
In South Australia, 111 boys were registered as Jack in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Scotland
1 in 190
In Scotland, 247 boys named Jack were registered in 2024, the 7th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 350
In Canada, 1,039 boys named Jack were born in 2024, the 11th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
1 in 370
In England and Wales, 1,595 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 24th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
New Zealand
1 in 370
In New Zealand, 156 boys named Jack were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
New South Wales
#10 · 2025
In New South Wales, 308 boys named Jack were registered in 2025, ranked 10th in that year’s top 100 for boys.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Norway
1 in 4,800register 2026
In Norway, 6 boys were given the name Jack in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Austria
1 in 6,900
In Austria, 11 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 436th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
France
1 in 12,000
In France, about 55 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 733rd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
Mexico City City
1 in 13,000
In Mexico City, there were 9 registrations of Jack in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 15,000
In Chile, 12 boys were registered as Jack in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Argentina
1 in 51,000
In Argentina, 13 newborns were given the name Jack in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 77,000
In Spain, 584 residents are named Jack, ranked 2,060th among men, with a mean age of 25.5 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Poland
1 in 82,000
In Poland, 3 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 581st most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Brazil
1 in 140,000
At the 2022 census, 1,518 people in Brazil were named Jack, ranked 6,205th, with a median age of 30.
Among people named Jack living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 74 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 2009
Jack is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Puerto Rico
last on record 2023
Jack is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 122 babies have carried the name there since 1998.
share of that year’s births on record
First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)
Where Jack travels
Irish · God is gracious (form of John); consistently one of Ireland's most popular boys' names
Global crossover · medieval pet form of John, 'God is gracious'; the UK and Ireland's most popular boys' name for over a decade, and a longtime US favorite
Keep exploring
Names like Jack · Names that go with Jack · Nicknames for Jack · Middle names for Jack · Irish baby names · Global crossover names · Names of founders and builders · Short names · What is Jack short for? · The hundred-year rule
The Jack deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jack truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jack fits with your family’s names and surname.
Does Jack fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Jack to your family’s tree →