Jake
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Meaning
"holder of the heel" by tradition, as Jacob's medieval short form gone independent; English has used it on its own since the Middle Ages, and it boomed alongside Jacob's 1990s-2000s reign. Plainspoken, durable, all-weather
The story
Jake began as the plainspoken pet form of Jacob, the Hebrew name traditionally translated as supplanter, and Americans have been putting it on birth certificates for well over a century. By the 1920s it was so familiar that everything's jake was slang for all is well. It faded to a murmur by the 1960s, the fate of many grandpa names, then staged one of the great comebacks: Jake climbed through the 1980s and 1990s and hit its peak in the 2000s, exactly the years Jacob sat at number one among American boys, and it is hard not to notice the two rising together. Since then it has drifted down only gently. Jake remains what it has always been, the shirtsleeves version of a patriarch's name: friendly, sturdy, and impossible to mispronounce.
The formal names behind Jake
Jake is an established short form of this name.
Jacob · Hebrew origin · traditionally "holder of the heel" or "supplanter," from the Hebrew Ya'aqov, the patriarch who wrestled the angel and fathered the twelve tribes; a Jewish and Puritan staple that ruled the US boys' charts for over a decade around the 2000s. Jake comes free
Jake across languages
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
How popular is Jake around the world?
In the United States, 5,007 babies were named Jake between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 60 boys named Jake were born in 2025, the 95th most common name among boys that year.
Jake is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, New Zealand, England and Wales, Montevideo, France, Mexico City, Spain, Argentina and Brazil.
United States
1 in 4,400
In the United States, 5,007 babies were named Jake between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jake peaked in the 2000s. Jake went to 1,922 US babies in 2015 and 682 in 2025, 35% of the earlier figure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 900
In Ireland, 60 boys named Jake were born in 2025, the 95th 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 1,1002017
In South Australia, 17 boys were registered as Jake 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
Canada
1 in 1,500
In Canada, 250 boys named Jake were born in 2024, the 127th 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)
Scotland
1 in 1,700
In Scotland, 27 boys named Jake were registered in 2024, the 165th 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
New Zealand
1 in 2,100
In New Zealand, 27 boys named Jake 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
England and Wales
1 in 2,700
In England and Wales, 213 boys named Jake were born in 2025, the 235th 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
Montevideo City
1 in 25,0002011
In Montevideo, 1 boy named Jake was born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.
The count never rose above 1 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
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 boys named Jake were born in 2025, ranked 1,687th 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 59,000
In Mexico City, there were 2 registrations of Jake 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
Spain
1 in 250,000
In Spain, 182 residents are named Jake, ranked 5,007th among men, with a mean age of 17 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
Argentina
1 in 330,000
In Argentina, 2 newborns were given the name Jake in 2024.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 176 people in Brazil were named Jake, ranked 27,790th, with a median age of 14.
Among people named Jake 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 56 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
Austria
last on record 2024
Jake is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Chile
last on record 2020
Jake is not on the 2021 record for Chile, where nametree keeps the spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
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
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Jake is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
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
Poland
last on record 2019
Jake is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Puerto Rico
last on record 2020
Jake is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 128 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)
Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Jake
Most people given the name Jake in the United States are teenagers or young adults today.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Jake · Names that go with Jake · Short names · Climbers and fallers
The Jake deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jake 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 Jake fits with your family’s names and surname.
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