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Jack (given name)

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For other uses, see Jack (disambiguation).
Jack
Pronunciationdʒæk (jak)
GenderMale (rarely female)
Origin
Word/nameMiddle English, indirect diminutive of "John"
Other names
Related namesJackson, John, Jacob, Jackie

Jack (Template:PronEng) is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name,[1] and sometimes as a surname. In English it is commonly used as the diminutive form of the name Jacob, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.

Origin

The name Jack originates from the Middle English given name Jankin, with variants including Jakken and Jakke, formed by the addition of the diminutive suffix "-kin" (similar to the German "-chen") to the name Jan, itself a contracted version of the French name Jehan (like John formed by shortening from the Latin form Johannes). Jankin became Jakken (or Jackin), and eventually Jack. This short form may have been influenced by the phonologically similar French name Jacques—which is cognate with the names James and Jacob. However, this similarity may be coincidence: native speakers of English have historically associated the name Jack with John and only rarely with the name Jacob, for which the usual shortened form is Jake.

The name Jakke was so common in England that it came to be used for addressing any male, originally especially one considered a social inferior, and was extended to designate any male person, male animals, and even a variety of inanimate objects, such as the device named jack for lifting heavy loads.

Frequency

Given name

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, "Jack" has been the most frequently used male given name for babies for at least the years 2003–2007.[2][3][4] Looking back through the historical record, the top status for Jack as a male given name is a recent phenomenon. For all of the 19th Century and the first half of the 20th Century, William or John held the title of most frequent male given name.[5] A closer look at London shows that as of 1994 "Jack" was the most popular given name in the city, but does not appear among the top-ten most popular in the preceding 970 years.[5][failed verification] A survey in December 2008 showed that Jack is the most popular name in the UK for the 14th year running, since it took over from Thomas in 1994.

According to the United States Census of 1990, "Jack" is an uncommon American given name, the given name for 0.315% of the male population and 0.001% of the female population.[1][6][7] However, the frequency of use of "Jack" as a baby name has steadily increased from the 160–170 rank prior to 1991 to a rank of 35 in 2006.[8]

Jock is the Scottish form of the name Jack.

Surname

The appearance of "Jack" as a surname is much less frequent than its use as a male given name. In 1990 United States, this surname is shared by about 0.007% of the population, though the geographical distribution of the surname has been broad since at least 1840, at which time there was a modest concentration of Jacks in Pennsylvania.[6][9][10] In the late 19th century, the geographic distribution of Jacks in England was also broad, with enrichment in North East England, Yorkshire and the Humber and southern North West England.[11]

Notable people named "Jack"

Television and film

Business

Books and comics

  • Jack Chick (born 1924), American comic-book artist and publisher; owner of Chick Publications
  • Jack Kerouac (1922–1969), American novelist, writer, poet, and artist; a founding member of the Beat Generation
  • Jack Kirby (1917–1994), American comic-book artist, writer and editor
  • Jack London (1876–1916), American author of books such as The Call of the Wild
  • Jack Warner Schaefer (1907–1991), American author in the Western genre
  • Jack, A fictional female dog in The Last Dog on Earth. This dog is immune to P.O.S. (Psychotic Outbreak Syndrome)
  • Jack Starbright, Alex's female American housekeeper in the Alex Rider series

Music

Politics

Sports

Other

Notable fictional characters named "Jack"

Movies

Television

American television

Australian television

  • Jack Holden, male character from the series Home and Away

British television

Irish television

French television

Music

Literature

Comics

Video games

  • Jack, the silent protagonist of BioShock
  • Jack, the protagonist of the Harvest Moon series
  • Jack, Delta Squad's robotic aid in Gears of War
  • Jack is the first name of two separate characters from the Metal Gear series: Big Boss and Raiden
  • Jack of Blades is the main antagonist of Fable
  • Jack Carver is the protagonist of Far Cry and it's console ports
  • Jack is the name of the main character in Madworld
  • Jack Marston, the son of John Marston, protagonist of Red Dead Redemption.
  • Jack, A female biotic squadmate in Mass Effect 2

Nursery rhymes

Other

  • Jack (mascot), the official spokesman for the American restaurant chain Jack in the Box

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Name search results". Search name files from 1990 Census. United States Census Bureau. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2008-02-09. NAME(female):JACK ; RANK:3217; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.001 (88.832)
  2. ^ "Top 100 names for baby boys in England and Wales". National Statistics Online. Office for National Statistics. 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  3. ^ "Jack and Katie are the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland". News. Department of Finance and Personnel, Northern Ireland. 2007-12-19. Retrieved 2008-02-10. Jack has been the most popular boys name since 2003....
  4. ^ "Jack and Emma were the most popular first names in Northern Ireland in 2003" (PDF) (Press release). Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. 2004-01-02. Retrieved 2008-02-14. Jack and Emma were the most popular first names given to children whose births were registered in Northern Ireland in 2003
  5. ^ a b Galbi, Douglas A. (2002-07-20). "Long-Term Trends in Personal Given Name Frequencies in England and Wales". 1.1. (self-published). Retrieved 2008-02-10. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ a b The male, female and total populations of the United States in the 1990 census were 121,239,418; 127,470,455; and 248,709,873, respectively. Information from "General Population and Housing Characteristics: 1990". 1990 Summary Tape File 1 (STF 1) - 100-Percent data. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
  7. ^ "Name search results". Search name files from 1990 Census. United States Census Bureau. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2008-02-09. NAME(male):JACK ; RANK:53; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.315 (48.102)
  8. ^ Popular baby names
  9. ^ "Name search results". Search name files from 1990 Census. United States Census Bureau. 2007-09-07. Retrieved 2008-02-09. NAME(last):JACK ; RANK:1852; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.007 (50.991)
  10. ^ "Jack Family History Facts 1840". Family Facts. The Generations Network, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  11. ^ "Jack Families Living in England and Wales in 1891". Family Facts. The Generations Network, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
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