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Jack

boy name
Origin
English
Syllables
1
Peak era
2010s/2020s
Today
▲ Rising

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.

Read why Jack is short for John →

More names with stories →

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

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

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

JackEnglish · short formJohnEnglishJuanSpanishJeanFrenchSeanIrishIanScottishEvanWelshIvanSlavicJoãoPortugueseJohannGerman
37 more branches of this family
JohnnyEnglish · diminutiveJohnnieEnglish · diminutiveJohnieEnglish · variantJhonSpanish · variantJeanneFrench · feminine formJeannieScottish · diminutiveJeanieScottish · diminutiveJeanetteFrench · diminutiveJeannetteFrench · diminutiveJeannineFrench · diminutiveJaneEnglish · feminine formJanieEnglish · diminutiveJayneEnglish · variantJannaEnglish · variantJennieEnglish · diminutiveJoanEnglish · feminine formJoannaEnglish · feminine formJoanneEnglish · variantJoannEnglish · variantJohannaGerman · feminine formJanetScottish · diminutiveJanetteFrench · diminutiveJaniceEnglish · related formJanelleEnglish · related formShawnIrish · variantShayneIrish · variantIvanaSlavic · feminine formGiovannaItalian · feminine formGiannaItalian · short formGianaItalian · variantGianniItalian · diminutiveJuanaSpanish · feminine formJuanitaSpanish · diminutiveHanselGerman · diminutiveJacksonEnglish · surname formJohnsonEnglish · surname formJonesWelsh · surname form

Ways to honor John →

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.

1890speak 2010s

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

See the full list for the United States →

Ireland

1 in 110

In Ireland, 475 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 2nd most common name among boys that year.

1964peak 20012025

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

See the full list for Ireland →

South Australia

1 in 170 · 2017

In South Australia, 111 boys were registered as Jack in 2017.

1944peak 2000

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

See the full list for South Australia →

Scotland

1 in 190

In Scotland, 247 boys named Jack were registered in 2024, the 7th most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 20022024

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

See the full list for Scotland →

Canada

1 in 350

In Canada, 1,039 boys named Jack were born in 2024, the 11th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2021

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)

See the full list for Canada →

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.

peak 19962025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

New Zealand

1 in 370

In New Zealand, 156 boys named Jack were registered in 2025.

1900peak 2005

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

See the full list for New Zealand →

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.

1980peak 20052025

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

See the full list for New South Wales →

Norway

1 in 4,800 · register 2026

In Norway, 6 boys were given the name Jack in 2025.

peak 19562025

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)

See the full list for Norway →

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.

1984peak 20132025

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)

See the full list for Austria →

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.

1900peak 19452025

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)

See the full list for France →

Mexico City City

1 in 13,000

In Mexico City, there were 9 registrations of Jack in 2022.

2000peak 20072022

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

See the full list for Mexico City →

Chile

1 in 15,000

In Chile, 12 boys were registered as Jack in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2020

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

See the full list for Chile →

Argentina

1 in 51,000

In Argentina, 13 newborns were given the name Jack in 2024.

2012peak 2022

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

See the full list for Argentina →

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

See the full list for Spain →

Poland

1 in 82,000

In Poland, 3 boys named Jack were born in 2025, the 581st most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 20132025

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)

See the full list for Poland →

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.

1940speak 1990s2010s

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

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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

See the full list for Montevideo →

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.

1998peak 2023

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)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Jack

Charlie Frankie Eddie Harry Lenny Early

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

Name trails: explore connections from Jack →

The Jack deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

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.

Both reports, explained →

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