Jack
Jack was given to 8,748 boys in 2025, #15 among boys’ names; 759,677 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 414,000 Americans named Jack and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (55% of everyone recorded); the median is 23 years old and half are between 12 and 61.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jack by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jack mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jack is “a unisex given name derived from a pet form of the name John. Occasionally a diminutive of other given names such as Jackson, Jacob, Jacqueline or Jonathan.” Its etymology gives the sense “John” (Jan).
From Middle English Jak, Jakke (also Jackin, Jankyn, etc.), from Anglo-Norman Jakke, *Janke, from Middle Dutch Janke, diminutive of Jan (“John”); equivalent to John + -kin. Doublet of Yankee. It can be also used as nickname for Jacob. Though the name was originally a pet form, it has become more of an independent name.
/ˈd͡ʒæk/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jack?
#15 among boys’ names, 2025
Jack rose from #40 in 2015 to #15 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 4.4 to 5.1 per 1,000.
12,884 babies in 1927, the peak
Jack peaked in 1927, when 12,884 babies were given it (12,802 boys, #16 among boys’ names). The 8,754 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 68% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8,748 | #15 | 5.1 |
| 2024 | 8,472 | #15 | 4.9 |
| 2023 | 8,715 | #14 | 5.1 |
| 2022 | 8,936 | #15 | 5.1 |
| 2021 | 9,568 | #11 | 5.5 |
| 2020 | 8,945 | #21 | 5.2 |
| 2019 | 9,404 | #19 | 5.2 |
| 2018 | 8,894 | #28 | 4.9 |
| 2017 | 8,477 | #36 | 4.6 |
| 2016 | 8,430 | #38 | 4.4 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 8,514 | #40 | 4.4 |
| 2014 | 8,753 | #41 | 4.6 |
| 2013 | 8,577 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 2012 | 7,941 | #46 | 4.2 |
| 2011 | 8,185 | #45 | 4.3 |
| 2010 | 8,520 | #45 | 4.4 |
| 2009 | 9,029 | #42 | 4.6 |
| 2008 | 9,897 | #39 | 4.9 |
| 2007 | 10,671 | #38 | 5.1 |
| 2006 | 10,837 | #36 | 5.3 |
| 2005 | 10,906 | #34 | 5.5 |
| 2004 | 9,580 | #42 | 4.8 |
| 2003 | 9,318 | #45 | 4.7 |
| 2002 | 9,000 | #44 | 4.6 |
| 2001 | 8,149 | #48 | 4.2 |
| 2000 | 8,125 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1999 | 7,385 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1998 | 6,376 | #61 | 3.3 |
| 1997 | 4,984 | #76 | 2.6 |
| 1996 | 4,245 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1995 | 3,448 | #110 | 1.8 |
| 1994 | 2,781 | #127 | 1.4 |
| 1993 | 2,425 | #143 | 1.2 |
| 1992 | 2,070 | #155 | 1.0 |
| 1991 | 1,949 | #166 | 1.0 |
| 1990 | 1,838 | #166 | 0.89 |
| 1989 | 1,716 | #179 | 0.86 |
| 1988 | 1,655 | #171 | 0.86 |
| 1987 | 1,656 | #164 | 0.89 |
| 1986 | 1,522 | #175 | 0.83 |
| 1985 | 1,523 | #176 | 0.82 |
| 1984 | 1,483 | #173 | 0.82 |
| 1983 | 1,526 | #172 | 0.85 |
| 1982 | 1,620 | #166 | 0.89 |
| 1981 | 1,616 | #166 | 0.90 |
| 1980 | 1,627 | #158 | 0.91 |
| 1979 | 1,582 | #161 | 0.92 |
| 1978 | 1,579 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1977 | 1,672 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1976 | 1,662 | #149 | 1.1 |
| 1975 | 1,742 | #142 | 1.1 |
| 1974 | 1,648 | #149 | 1.0 |
| 1973 | 1,850 | #138 | 1.2 |
| 1972 | 1,899 | #142 | 1.2 |
| 1971 | 2,364 | #132 | 1.3 |
| 1970 | 2,564 | #129 | 1.4 |
| 1969 | 2,606 | #122 | 1.5 |
| 1968 | 2,692 | #110 | 1.5 |
| 1967 | 2,782 | #112 | 1.6 |
| 1966 | 2,964 | #107 | 1.7 |
| 1965 | 3,199 | #104 | 1.7 |
| 1964 | 3,809 | #99 | 1.9 |
| 1963 | 3,814 | #102 | 1.9 |
| 1962 | 4,170 | #99 | 2.0 |
| 1961 | 4,639 | #90 | 2.2 |
| 1960 | 4,918 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1959 | 5,015 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1958 | 5,301 | #80 | 2.5 |
| 1957 | 6,024 | #67 | 2.8 |
| 1956 | 6,051 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1955 | 6,200 | #60 | 3.0 |
| 1954 | 6,475 | #57 | 3.2 |
| 1953 | 6,540 | #57 | 3.3 |
| 1952 | 6,937 | #52 | 3.6 |
| 1951 | 7,004 | #48 | 3.7 |
| 1950 | 6,840 | #48 | 3.8 |
| 1949 | 7,128 | #47 | 4.0 |
| 1948 | 7,612 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1947 | 8,507 | #37 | 4.6 |
| 1946 | 7,801 | #35 | 4.8 |
| 1945 | 6,857 | #32 | 5.1 |
| 1944 | 7,253 | #30 | 5.3 |
| 1943 | 7,398 | #34 | 5.2 |
| 1942 | 7,365 | #34 | 5.3 |
| 1941 | 6,950 | #32 | 5.7 |
| 1940 | 7,048 | #29 | 6.1 |
| 1939 | 7,306 | #26 | 6.6 |
| 1938 | 8,144 | #25 | 7.3 |
| 1937 | 8,194 | #23 | 7.7 |
| 1936 | 8,857 | #20 | 8.5 |
| 1935 | 9,438 | #18 | 9.1 |
| 1934 | 9,985 | #17 | 9.7 |
| 1933 | 9,838 | #17 | 9.9 |
| 1932 | 10,716 | #17 | 10.3 |
| 1931 | 11,488 | #15 | 11.0 |
| 1930 | 12,430 | #14 | 11.3 |
| 1929 | 12,167 | #14 | 11.3 |
| 1928 | 12,494 | #15 | 11.3 |
| 1927 | 12,802 | #16 | 11.4 |
| 1926 | 12,195 | #16 | 11.0 |
| 1925 | 12,011 | #17 | 10.8 |
| 1924 | 11,921 | #17 | 10.5 |
| 1923 | 11,190 | #17 | 10.2 |
| 1922 | 10,847 | #18 | 10.0 |
| 1921 | 10,757 | #18 | 9.8 |
| 1920 | 9,599 | #20 | 9.0 |
| 1919 | 8,263 | #21 | 8.4 |
| 1918 | 8,341 | #21 | 8.2 |
| 1917 | 6,875 | #22 | 7.4 |
| 1916 | 6,161 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 1915 | 5,749 | #27 | 6.8 |
| 1914 | 4,485 | #27 | 6.8 |
| 1913 | 3,538 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1912 | 2,870 | #28 | 6.7 |
| 1911 | 1,668 | #25 | 7.4 |
| 1910 | 1,576 | #23 | 8.1 |
| 1909 | 1,150 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1908 | 1,086 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1907 | 1,019 | #26 | 6.9 |
| 1906 | 880 | #30 | 6.6 |
| 1905 | 907 | #28 | 6.9 |
| 1904 | 908 | #27 | 7.1 |
| 1903 | 831 | #28 | 7.0 |
| 1902 | 743 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1901 | 645 | #32 | 6.1 |
| 1900 | 1,053 | #27 | 7.0 |
| 1899 | 582 | #35 | 5.5 |
| 1898 | 633 | #37 | 5.2 |
| 1897 | 497 | #42 | 4.4 |
| 1896 | 539 | #40 | 4.5 |
| 1895 | 479 | #46 | 4.1 |
| 1894 | 441 | #47 | 3.8 |
| 1893 | 405 | #50 | 3.6 |
| 1892 | 401 | #54 | 3.3 |
| 1891 | 290 | #62 | 2.9 |
| 1890 | 368 | #53 | 3.3 |
| 1889 | 322 | #61 | 2.9 |
| 1888 | 329 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1887 | 251 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1886 | 299 | #64 | 2.7 |
| 1885 | 295 | #61 | 2.7 |
| 1884 | 274 | #68 | 2.4 |
| 1883 | 242 | #65 | 2.3 |
| 1882 | 271 | #66 | 2.4 |
| 1881 | 197 | #73 | 2.0 |
| 1880 | 204 | #77 | 1.8 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Jack a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Jack has been given almost only to boys: 2,734 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Jack: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jack, and how old are they?
414,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 55% of the 759,677 Americans ever recorded as Jack. The median Jack alive today is 23 years old; half are between 12 and 61.
The 2020 Census counted 415,678 people named Jack (1,055 women and girls, 414,623 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 403,665 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 27,400 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 73,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 30,300 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 31,700 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 137,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 114,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jack born?
The states with the most babies named Jack are California, New York and Texas, with 22% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 62,096 | #48 | 1.0× |
| New York | 52,761 | #12 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 45,680 | #61 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 43,720 | #10 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 40,983 | #13 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 37,929 | #15 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 36,488 | #6 | 1.3× |
| Indiana | 23,543 | #18 | 1.3× |
| Georgia | 20,326 | #31 | 0.9× |
| Missouri | 19,924 | #14 | 1.1× |
Where Jack is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jack is most over-represented in Oklahoma: since 1910 it was given 1.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jack with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 4 names spelled alike, given to 761,366 babies since 1880, Jack is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8,754 of their 8,796 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jack
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jack and names like it
- Compare Jack and JacBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sJack peaked in 1927.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jack since 1910.
- The top names of 1927The year the most babies were named Jack.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Jack alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with JMost given first.