Pronunciation | /dʒæk/ |
---|---|
Gender | Unisex |
Origin | |
Word/name | Middle English, indirect diminutive of "John" or from an anglicized form of French "Jacques" |
Meaning | "Yahweh has been Gracious", [1] "Graced by Yahweh" (John), "He may/will/shall follow/heed/seize by the heel/watch/guard/protect”, "Supplanter/Assailant", "May God protect" (Jacques), and possibly "health" |
Other names | |
Nickname(s) | Jackie, Jacky, Jay |
Jack is a given name, a diminutive of John or Jackson; alternatively, it may be derived from Jacques, the French form of James or Jacob. [2] Since the late 20th century, Jack has become one of the most common names for boys in many English-speaking countries. Jack is also used to a lesser extent as a female given name, often as a shortened version of Jacqueline. [3]
The word "jack" is also commonly used in other contexts in English for many occupations, objects and actions, linked to the use of the word as a metaphor for a common man.
Jack is thought by some to have hailed from the earlier Jackin (from the name Jankin). [2] [4] Alternatively, it may be derived from an anglicisation of Jacques, the French form of the name James or Jacob. [2] There is also a theory that it is Celtic in origin, meaning "healthy, strong, full of vital energy" (compare the Welsh word iach, "health"), from a putative Ancient British Yakkios. [5] [ unreliable source? ] Both the name and the word "jack" were long used as a term to refer to any man, especially of the common classes. [6] [7]
In several English-speaking countries, Jack has become increasingly used as a formal name, rather than being a mere nickname as it traditionally has been. In its own right, it is now more popular than John, James, and Jacob. In recent years[ when? ], Jack has been the most common given name for boys in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia, and has grown in popularity in the United States.
John–from which Jack was often derived—was, along with William, the most frequent male name throughout the 19th century and in the first half of the 20th century. [8] Jack appeared on the lists of the most frequently used male-baby names in the UK for 2003–2007. [9] [10] [11]
In 2014, Jack was again the most popular name for baby boys in Ireland. [12]
In 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2013, Jack was the most common name given to boys in Australia. [13]
According to the United States Census of 1990, Jack is an uncommon American name, the given name for 0.315% of the male population and 0.001% of the female population. [3] [14] [15] However, the frequency of Jack as a baby name has steadily increased from the 160–170 rank prior to 1991 to a rank of 35 in 2006. [16]
Jock is a common diminutive of the name John in Scotland.
The name Jack is unusual in the English language for its frequent use as a noun or verb for many common objects and actions, and in many compound words and phrases.
Examples include implements, such as a car jack, knucklebones (the game jacks), or the jack in bowls.
The word is also used in other words and phrases such as: apple jack, hijack, jack of clubs (playing card), jack straw (scarecrow), jack tar (sailor), jack-in-the-box, jack-of-all-trades, Jack the lad, jack o'lantern, jackdaw, jackhammer, jackknife, jackpot, lumberjack, Union Jack, etc.
The history of the word is linked to the name being used as a by-name for a man. [6]
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presumably in the belief it is a Welsh patronymic in origin, for which there is no evidence, was that it is a corruption of "Ap Lake", meaning "Son of Lake".
Mike is a masculine given name. It is also encountered as a short form of Michael. Notable people with the name include:
Patrick is a male given name of Latin origin. It is derived from the Roman name Patricius.
Delaney is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic Ó Dubhshláine, Dubh meaning black and Sláine for the River Sláine (Slaney). DeLaney is also of Norman origin. Variants include Delaney, Delany and Dulaney.
Chris is a short form of various names including Christopher, Christian, Christina, and Christine. Chris is also used as a name in its own right, however it is not as common.
Cooper is a surname.
Bailey is an English or Scottish surname. It is first recorded in Northumberland, where it was said to have been changed from Balliol due to the unpopularity of Scottish king John Balliol. There appears to be no historical evidence for this, and Bain concludes that the earliest form was Baillie or Bailli . The origin of the name is most likely from Anglo-Norman bailli, the equivalent of bailiff; bailie remains a regional Scottish variant of the term bailiff. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Norman name may have been locational, derived from Bailleul-En-Vimeu in Normandy.
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk". Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem connected with King Arthur's Round Table. Gawain beheads the Green Knight who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year. Decapitation figures elsewhere: the Italian name Gavino is the name of an early Christian martyr who was beheaded in 300 AD, his head being thrown in the Mediterranean Sea only later reunited and interred with his body.
Graham is a surname of Scottish and English origin. It is typically an Anglo-French form of the name of the town of Grantham, in Lincolnshire, England. The settlement is recorded in the 11th century Domesday Book variously as Grantham, Grandham, Granham and Graham. This place name is thought to be derived from the Old English elements grand, possibly meaning "gravel", and ham, meaning "hamlet" the English word given to small settlements of smaller size than villages.
Carter is a family name, and also may be a given name. Carter is of Irish, Scottish and English origin and is an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon ultimately of Celtic derivation. It may also appear as an English reduced form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic derived McCarter or the Scottish-Gaelic Mac Artair with Mc meaning "son of." Its appearance and pronunciation as Carter may also be the Anglicized form of the Irish Mac Artúir, Cuirtéir, or Ó Cuirtéir. The name is related to the Gaelic word cairt meaning cart, and ultimately from the Latin carettarius. Additionally, in Gaelic, the word "cairtear", which means tourist or sojourner, is also related. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland in the 1100s Roman Catholic English derived Carter's also arrived in Ireland and settled into walled towns established by the Normans. These Anglo-Normans assimilated into Irish culture, adopting Irish Gaelic customs, language, and religion unlike later English and Scottish Protestant planter settlers in Ireland who arrived between the 1550s and 1700 and mainly settled in Ulster during the plantation of Ulster, establishing the Ulster Protestant community.
Barry is both a given name and an Irish surname. The given name can be an Anglicised form of some Irish personal names or shortened form of Barrington, while the surname has numerous etymological origins, and is derived from both place names and personal names.
Harper is an English, Scottish, and Irish surname that is also commonly used as a unisex given name in the United States.
Ryan is a common surname of Irish origin, as well as being a common given name in the English-speaking world.
Burke is a Norman-Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh had the surname de Burgh, which was gaelicised in Irish as de Búrca and over the centuries became Búrc, then Burke, and Bourke.
Fox is a surname originating in England and Ireland. The derivation is from the Middle English "fox", itself coming from the Old English pre 7th century "fox". The surname first appears on record in the latter part of the 13th century, with the first recorded spelling in 1273 to be that of John Fox in the "Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire", England. In Ireland, Fox is mainly a translation of the Old Gaelic "Mac a'tSionnaigh".
Kyle is an English-language given name, derived from the Scottish Gaelic surname Kyle, which is itself from a region in Ayrshire.
Sheridan is an Irish surname. It is derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Sirideáin 'descendant of Sirideáin', a given name meaning 'to seek'. Originating in County Longford, the Sheridans were erenaghs of Granard, but in the County Cavan served the O'Reillys.
Doug is a male personal name. It is sometimes a given name, but more often it is a hypocorism which takes the place of a given name, usually Douglas. Notable people with the name include:
NAME(female):JACK ; RANK:3217; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.001 (88.832)
"Jack" was early used as a general term for any man of the common people, especially in combination with the woman's name Jill or Gill, as in the nursery rhyme
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(help)Jack has been the most popular male name since 2003....
Jack and Emma were the most popular first names given to children whose births were registered in Northern Ireland in 2003
NAME(male):JACK ; RANK:53; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.315 (48.102)