boys' name ★ peaked 1927

Jack

Meaning Jack is a given name of English origin Gender Boy Rank 2025 #15 Trend → Stable

Jack is a given name of English origin.

Rank 2025
#15
among boys · unchanged vs 2024
Babies in 2025
8,754
named Jack · +3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 195
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1927
12,884 babies
All-time total
759,677
#46 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Jack popularity over time

759,677 babies have been named Jack since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 5 2,684 2,689 269 – #61
1890s 24 4,635 4,659 466 +73% #35
1900s 47 9,222 9,269 927 +99% #26
1910s 311 49,526 49,837 4,984 +438% #21
1920s 758 115,983 116,741 11,674 +134% #14
1930s 477 96,396 96,873 9,687 -17% #14
1940s 210 73,919 74,129 7,413 -23% #29
1950s 148 62,387 62,535 6,254 -16% #48
1960s 147 35,593 35,740 3,574 -43% #85
1970s 132 18,562 18,694 1,869 -48% #129
1980s 116 15,944 16,060 1,606 -14% #158
1990s 60 37,501 37,561 3,756 +134% #52
2000s 149 95,512 95,661 9,566 +155% #34
2010s 86 85,695 85,781 8,578 -10% #19
2020s (to 2025) 64 53,384 53,448 8,908 +4% #11

Where Jack is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 8,737 5.12 #16
2027 8,728 5.11 #16
2028 8,720 5.11 #16
2029 8,713 5.10 #16
2030 8,708 5.10 #16

Where Jack is most popular

Boys named Jack per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 5.15 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, New Hampshire, and Wyoming.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Jack born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Vermont 102 16.2 +216%
New Hampshire 324 14.6 +184%
Wyoming 74 12.8 +149%
Maine 230 11.9 +130%
Massachusetts 1,566 11.4 +121%
District of Columbia 161 10.9 +112%
Connecticut 736 10.9 +111%
Utah 1,021 10.7 +108%
Alaska 123 10.3 +101%
North Dakota 171 10.0 +95%
Rhode Island 153 9.38 +82%
Montana 162 9.19 +79%
Minnesota 1,126 9.18 +78%
South Dakota 166 8.92 +73%
Wisconsin 1,048 8.85 +72%
Iowa 595 8.63 +68%
Idaho 348 8.50 +65%
Nebraska 364 8.37 +63%
Delaware 126 8.31 +62%
Michigan 1,645 8.03 +56%
New Jersey 1,593 7.91 +54%
Colorado 990 7.67 +49%
Oregon 564 7.43 +44%
Kansas 496 7.23 +41%
Pennsylvania 1,894 7.13 +39%
Illinois 1,820 7.12 +38%
New York 3,082 7.12 +38%
Ohio 1,826 6.89 +34%
Missouri 942 6.80 +32%
Washington 1,074 6.56 +28%
Hawaii 99 6.37 +24%
Tennessee 1,099 6.09 +18%
Indiana 959 5.98 +16%
Arkansas 378 5.97 +16%
Virginia 1,129 5.95 +16%
Maryland 679 5.69 +11%
Kentucky 569 5.67 +10%
North Carolina 1,424 5.58 +8%
Alabama 575 5.26 ≈ national
South Carolina 540 5.23 ≈ national
Oklahoma 455 5.14 ≈ national
Louisiana 510 4.99 ≈ national
Nevada 271 4.75 -8%
Mississippi 269 4.73 -8%
West Virginia 154 4.72 -8%
Arizona 757 4.63 -10%
Florida 2,064 4.36 -15%
Georgia 1,091 4.31 -16%
California 3,792 4.15 -19%
Texas 3,002 3.41 -34%
New Mexico 101 3.07 -40%

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jack

Jack is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #15 in 2025 with 8,748 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 759,677 American babies have been named Jack. Its peak came in 1927, when 12,884 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jack stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jack?

The median living Jack is about 23 years old; half are between 12 and 63. An estimated 431 thousand people named Jack are alive in the United States today.

median 23 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jack year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 6 #13,886 8,748 #15
2024 8 #11,525 8,472 #15
2023 13 #8,233 8,715 #14
2022 8 #11,619 8,936 #15
2021 15 #7,411 9,568 #11
2020 14 #7,718 8,945 #21
2019 14 #7,895 9,404 #19
2018 8 #11,853 8,894 #28
2017 9 #11,060 8,477 #36
2016 11 #9,679 8,430 #38
2015 6 #15,247 8,514 #40
2014 9 #11,350 8,753 #41
2013 7 #13,739 8,577 #40
2012 10 #10,750 7,941 #46
2011 5 #17,859 8,185 #45
2010 7 #14,056 8,520 #45
2009 14 #8,621 9,029 #42
2008 15 #8,280 9,897 #39
2007 16 #7,874 10,671 #38
2006 21 #6,217 10,837 #36
2005 11 #9,714 10,906 #34
2004 27 #4,859 9,580 #42
2003 14 #7,737 9,318 #45
2002 13 #8,004 9,000 #44
2001 11 #8,988 8,149 #48
2000 7 #12,303 8,125 #46
1995 5 #14,290 3,448 #110
1990 – – 1,838 #166
1985 12 #5,789 1,523 #176
1980 13 #5,340 1,627 #158
1975 7 #7,443 1,742 #142
1970 16 #3,771 2,564 #129
1965 22 #2,628 3,199 #104
1960 15 #3,266 4,918 #85
1955 16 #2,885 6,200 #60
1950 15 #2,711 6,840 #48
1945 18 #2,015 6,857 #32
1940 20 #1,813 7,048 #29
1935 40 #1,107 9,438 #18
1930 88 #748 12,430 #14
1925 95 #763 12,011 #17
1920 60 #942 9,599 #20
1915 37 #1,129 5,749 #27
1910 15 #1,185 1,576 #23
1905 6 #1,800 907 #28
1900 5 #2,064 1,053 #27
1895 6 #1,499 479 #46
1890 5 #1,418 368 #53
1885 – – 295 #61
1880 – – 204 #77

Famous people named Jack

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jack Nicholson Jack Nicholson American actor and filmmaker (born 1937) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jack Black Jack Black American actor, comedian, and musician (born 1969) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jack the Ripper Jack the Ripper Unidentified serial killer in London in 1888 b. 1850 · 19th century
  4. 4 Jack Ruby Jack Ruby American nightclub owner and murderer of Lee Harvey Oswald (1911–1967) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jack Lemmon Jack Lemmon American actor (1925–2001) Contemporary
  6. 6 Jack Nicklaus Jack Nicklaus American professional golfer (born 1940) Contemporary
  7. 7 Jack Kerouac Jack Kerouac American writer (1922–1969) Contemporary
  8. 8 Jack Ma Jack Ma Chinese business magnate and investor (born 1964) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jack Kirby Jack Kirby American comic book artist (1917–1994) Contemporary
  10. 10 Jack Johnson Jack Johnson American boxer (1878–1946) 19th century
  11. 11 Jack London Jack London American author, journalist and social activist (1876–1916) 19th century
  12. 12 Jack Palance Jack Palance American actor (1919–2006) Contemporary
  13. 13 Jack Kevorkian Jack Kevorkian American pathologist and euthanasia activist (1928–2011) Contemporary
  14. 14 Jack Swigert Jack Swigert American astronaut and politician (1931–1982) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jack Bruce Jack Bruce Scottish musician (1943–2014) Contemporary
  16. 16 Jack Warden Jack Warden American actor (1920–2006) Contemporary
  17. 17 Jack Dempsey Jack Dempsey American boxer (1895–1983) 19th century
  18. 18 Jack Welch Jack Welch American business executive (1935–2020) Contemporary
  19. 19 Jack Elam Jack Elam American actor (1920–2003) Contemporary
  20. 20 Jack Hawkins Jack Hawkins British actor (1910–1973) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jack, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jack?

The median living Jack is about 23 years old. Half of all living Jacks are between 12 and 63 years old.

How many people named Jack are alive today?

An estimated 431 thousand people named Jack are alive in the United States, based on 759,677 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jack mean?

Jack is a given name of English origin.

How popular is the name Jack in 2025?

Jack ranked #15 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 8,748 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jack?

759,677 babies have been named Jack in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jack most popular?

Jack peaked in 1927, when 12,884 newborns received the name.

Is Jack a boy or girl name?

Jack is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jack rising or falling?

Jack has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Jack become more popular?

Jack looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 8,708 boys named Jack in 2030, ranking around #16. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jack?

Well-known people named Jack include Jack Nicholson (actor), Jack Black (actor), Jack the Ripper (extremist).

Names like Jack

Names that sound and feel close to Jack: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jack with similar names → More names starting with J →