Jack

“Variant of John — God is gracious” — Hebrew via Greek, Latin, and Old French origin

Boy's name · #15 in the US (2025) · Comeback

Jack was #14 in 1929, slipped to #179 by 1989, and has climbed back to #15 today. Roughly 757,000 boys have been named Jack since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records. Jackie is a short form of Jack. A popular twin pairing with Jack is Emma for a girl.

Around the world: #2 in N. Ireland (2025) · #2 in Ireland (2025) · #8 in Australia (VIC) (2025) · #8 in New Zealand (2025) · #10 in Australia (NSW) (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Jacks

Jack London — American author, journalist and social activist (1876–1916)
Jack Nicholson — American actor and filmmaker (born 1937)
Jack Kerouac — American writer (1922–1969)
Jack Ma — Chinese businessman
Jack Black — American actor, comedian, singer, musician and producer (born 1969)

In stories & tradition

Captain Jack Sparrow — Pirates of the Caribbean · Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Jack Shephard — Lost
Jack O'Neill — Stargate SG-1 · Stargate Atlantis

What Jacks become

Among 8,438 notable people named Jack:

Sports figures appear 2.44× more often than among typical names — e.g. Jack Wilshere, English association football player (born 1992).

Similar names: John · Levi · Jace · Benjamin · Isaac · Owen

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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