Jacqueline
Meaning
“French feminine form of Jacques/James; traditionally translated 'supplanter' or 'holder of the heel'”
Goes by Jackie, Jacqui
The story
Jacqueline is the French feminine of Jacques, France's own James, and it carries the traditional translation of that biblical line: supplanter, or holder of the heel, from the story of Jacob. A modest presence in the earliest American records, it built steadily for half a century. Then came the White House. Jacqueline Kennedy gave the name a polish and a public presence few first ladies have matched, and its strong showing through the 1960s sits right beside her years in the spotlight; we cannot prove the connection, but the timing is hard to ignore. Remarkably, the name did not fade with her era. It held its level clear through the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, easing gently in recent years. Elegant, durable, and fully international, Jacqueline has managed the rare trick of outlasting the very fashions it helped set.
Jacqueline around the world
One shared root links 18 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Ya'aqov, traditionally "holder of the heel, supplanter"; Late Latin split it into Jacobus and Iacomus, giving Europe both Jacob and James
The constellation
11 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jacqueline peaked in the 1950s and the 2000s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
19,992 people · the #1,070 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 10,204 · median age 38
Among people named Jacqueline living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 35 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Jacqueline
People given the name Jacqueline in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1999. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Jacqueline deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jacqueline 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 Jacqueline fits with your family’s names and surname.
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