Jake

What Jake means

Form of John, possibly meaning “God is gracious”

variant of Jack || 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, “Jake” (revision 94540451) and “John” (revision 94540597), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Jake?

US: Falling: down from #207 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #34 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2004, when 4,473 boys got the name (#98 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 2,505 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,277 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 982 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 NJ (1.28 per 1,000 boys), MS (1.02 per 1,000 boys), CT (0.91 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Jake is #457 in the US and #235 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 Jake 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

• Jack8,748 US · 1,595 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 Jake

Boys

• Christian#96Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2000, with 16,059 babies; 3,641 in 2025
• Nathan#63“gave”^*
• Nathaniel#140“God has given”^*
• Jesus#173Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2004, with 6,472 babies; 2,078 in 2025
• Jacob#43“May He Heel”^*
• Miguel#212Spanish and Portuguese form of Michael, meaning “who is like God?”^*

For a sister

• Anna#107Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #44 in 2015, #107 in 2025
• Brianna#222Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #82 in 2015, #222 in 2025
• Emily#34“rival, emulator”^*
• Julia#131Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2001, with 8,838 babies; 2,172 in 2025
• Molly#196Editor’s note Down from #144 in 2015 to #196 in 2025 in the US
• Allison#103Form of Elon, meaning “oak tree”^*

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 Jake’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.