Jack

What Jack means

Short form of John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”

pet form of the name John || From Middle English John, Johan, Johannes, from Anglo-Norman Jehan, Johan, and also Old English Iohannes, both from Late Latin Iōhannēs, variant of Latin Iōannēs, from Koine Greek Ἰωάννης (Iōánnēs), from Biblical Hebrew יוֹחָנָן (Yôḥānān),

Source: Wiktionary, “Jack” (revision 94540450) and “John” (revision 94540597), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Jack?

US: Rising: up from #40 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #2 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1927, when 12,802 boys got the name (#16 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 195 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 170 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 98 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (19.8 per 1,000 boys), NH (14.43 per 1,000 boys), MA (11.81 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Jack is #15 in the US and #24 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Jack were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Jake682 US · 213 E&W
• Jac15 US · 87 E&W
• Jak22 US · 5 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Jack

Boys

• Elijah#7“Yahweh is my god”^*
• Noah#2Editor’s note Steady in the US: #1 in 2015 and #2 in 2025. About 1 in 84 US boys in the 2025 records
• Zion#142Editor’s note Up from #227 in 2015 to #142 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 680 US boys in the 2025 records
• Malachi#134“my messenger”^*
• Griffin#222Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #222 vs #1,035 in 2025
• Jackson#36Editor’s note Down from #17 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 260 US boys in the 2025 records

For a sister

• Maya#62Editor’s note Steady in the US: #68 in 2015 and #62 in 2025. About 1 in 430 US girls in the 2025 records
• Isabelle#166Variant of Elizabeth, meaning “my God is an oath”^*
• Riley#48“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Rylee#137Variant of Riley, meaning “rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Amaya#180“the end”^*
• Madelyn#70Editor’s note Down from #59 in 2015 to #70 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Jack’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.