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Jack (name)
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Jack is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname. In English it is the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.
k" originated from the Middle English jakke (1350–1400). Jakke was used in addressing any male, especially one considered a social inferior, and was extended to anything male, including designation a variety of inanimate objects.
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Encyclopedia
Jack is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname. In English it is the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.
Origin
"Jack" originated from the Middle English jakke (1350–1400). Jakke was used in addressing any male, especially one considered a social inferior, and was extended to anything male, including designation a variety of inanimate objects. Variants included Jakken and Jankin with the addition of the diminutive suffix "-kin" (similar to the German "-chen") to the name "Jan," (John) which was itself a contracted version of the name "Jehan." One of names formed, "Jankin," then became "Jackin", and eventually "Jack". The process of back-formation has possibly led many to believe that the name is related to the French "Jacques," owing to phonological similarities, but this seems to be coincidence. Although it is possible and may appear at first glance to be derived from the French Jacques—which is cognate with the names James and Jacob—native speakers of English have historically associated the name "Jack" with John and only very rarely with "Jacob" (in which case the usual shortened form Jake is preferred). However, the name "Jack" also has roots in Hebrew, with the meaning "God is Gracious". This would make it a variant of names like "Hans" or "Seán"
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. 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. 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.
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. 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.
It is interesting to note the connotation that "Jack" had near the end of the 19th Century. According to the 1898 edition of Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable, the name could be used as a deprecatory appellation and could indicate inferiority or contempt.
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. 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.
Notable people named "Jack"
Television and film
- Jack Black, an American actor
- Jack Cassidy, an American actor
- Jack Lord (1920–1998), an American television, film, and Broadway actor; best known as the star of Hawaii Five-O
- Jack Palance (1919–2006), Academy Award winning American film actor
- Jack Scalia, an American actor
- Jack Wagner, an American actor
- Jack Nicholson (born 1937), Academy Award winning American actor
- Jack Tweed (born 1987), appeared on the UK Celebrity Big Brother 2007 television series
- Jack Lemmon (1925–2001), Academy Award winning American actor
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), an American author in the Western genre
Music
- Jack Barakat, who plays guitar in the band All Time Low
- Jack Bruce, best-known for being the bass guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Cream.
- Jack Casady, best-known for being the bass guitarist for the psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane.
- Jack Johnson, a singer/songwriter who also plays guitar
- Jack Jones (singer), American singer who won two Grammy Awards
- Jack Lucien, British singer who has achieved success in Spain
- Jack Russell, lead singer of the band Great White
- Jack White, American rock musician from the White Stripes.
- Jack Thompson, Ukelele folk'n'roll star, who has accumalated great success in Cargreen. The Back Street Grahams.
- Jack Walrath, American post-bop trumpeter.
- Jack DeJohnette, American jazz drummer and pianist.
Politics
Sports
- Jack Chesbro (1874–1931), former American Major League Baseball pitcher inducted into Hall of Fame in 1946
- Jack Fleming (1923–2001), former Pittsburgh Steelers and West Virginia Mountaineers radio broadcaster, very famous for calling "The Immaculate Reception"
- Jack Nicklaus American golfer
- Jack Holden (athlete) (1907–2004), English long-distance runner
- Jack Morris, former American Major League Baseball all-star pitcher
- Jack Powell (1874–1944), former American Major League Baseball pitcher
- Jack Churchill (sprinter), famous in the 1800's for being the first Canadian male to break 13 seconds
- Jack the Bulldog, Georgetown University mascot
Other
- Jack Kevorkian, pathologist and noted proponent of assisted suicide and a patient's right to die
- Jack Robichaux (19th Century), a serial rapist in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
- Jack Thompson, an American attorney and anti-video game activist
- Jack Prelutsky (poet), famous for his children's poetry.
Notable fictional characters named "Jack"
Movies
- Jack Dawson, one of two main characters in the 1997 film Titanic
- Jack-Jack Parr, The youngest member of the 'Parr' family, in The Incredibles.
- Jack Ryan, the main character in "The Hunt for Red October," "Clear and Present Danger," and other Tom Clancy novels
- Jack Skellington, main character in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Captain Jack Sparrow, lead character of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series
- Jack the monkey, a fictional monkey named after Jack Sparrow, appearing in the Pirates of the Caribbean Disney franchise
- Jack Charles Powell, main character of the 1996 film Jack
- Jack Stanfield, main character of the 2006 film Firewall
- Jack Trainer, lead male character of the 1988 film Working Girl
- Jack Traven, the main character from the American action movie Speed
- Jack Twist, one of the main characters in the short story Brokeback Mountain and its film adaptation
- Jack Torrance, the antagonist of The Shining
- Jack, the main character in the movie Fight Club
Jack "Cowboy" Kelly, the young leader of the News Boys in the film "Newsies"
Television
American Television
- Jack Bauer, the main character of the series 24
- Jack Bristow, a main character from the series Alias
- Jack Donaghy, a main character on the series 30 Rock
- Jack McFarland, a main character from the series Will & Grace
- Jack Gallo, a main character from the series Just Shoot Me!
- Jack Malloy, the main character of "Unhappily Ever After".
- Jack Malone, a main character from the series Without a Trace
- Jack O'Lantern, a villain character in Billy and Mandy's Jacked Up Halloween, a holiday episode of the animated series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy
- Jack Spicer, a main villain from the series "Xiaolin Showdown"
- Jack O'Neill, from the series Stargate SG-1
- Jack Shephard, the male lead character on the series Lost
- Jack Tripper, character from the series Three's Company and Three's a Crowd
- Jack McCoy, Executive Assistant District Attorney in Law & Order series.
- Jack Cox, Dr. Perry Cox's oldest child and only son on the sitcom Scrubs.
- Jack Carter, from the series Eureka
- Samurai Jack
- Jack Peabrain from the GodTube cartoon series.
British Television
- Jack the Front Loader, a character from the British children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends
- Captain Jack Harkness, a character in the British television series Doctor Who and Torchwood
- Detective Inspector Jack Frost, a character in the British television series A Touch of Frost.
Music
Literature
Comics
Video Games
- Jack, the silent protagonist of BioShock.
- 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 and Fable: The Lost Chapters.
Nursery rhymes
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