Jacqlyn
Feminine form of the masculine name Jacques, of French origin meaning "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 689 living Americans carry the first name Jacqlyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacqlyn today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacqlyn births was 1987 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacqlyn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
689
~ 1 in 497,466 Americans
Peak year
1987
34 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2016 SSA rank
#17,282
Tracked since 1945
Popularity
Jacqlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacqlyn from the 1940s through to the 2010s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 267 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacqlyn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jacqlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacqlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jacqlyn, while Pennsylvania, Illinois, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacqlyn
The name Jacqlyn is a feminine form of the masculine name Jacques, which derives from the Hebrew name Jacob. Jacob is a biblical name meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows". The name Jacques emerged as a French variation of the Latin Jacobus, which was derived from the Greek Iakobos.
The name Jacqlyn likely originated in medieval France, where Jacques was a common name among nobility and commoners alike. The spelling Jacqlyn is an English variation that emerged in the 19th century, potentially influenced by the French Jacqueline.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Jacqlyn is in the 14th century, when it appears in various medieval French texts and records. However, it was not until the 19th century that the spelling Jacqlyn became more widespread.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jacqlyn. One of the earliest was Jacqlyn of Bavaria (1401-1436), a German princess and duchess. Another notable Jacqlyn was Jacqlyn Rousseau (1712-1778), the wife of the famous French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
In the 20th century, Jacqlyn Kennedy Onassis (1929-1994) was perhaps the most famous bearer of the name. She was the wife of President John F. Kennedy and later married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis. Another well-known Jacqlyn was Jacqlyn Susann (1918-1974), an American author best known for her novel "Valley of the Dolls".
Other notable Jacqlyns include Jacqlyn Bouvier (1929-1994), the sister of Jacqlyn Kennedy Onassis, and Jacqlyn Cochran (1906-1980), an American pilot who was the first woman to break the sound barrier.
Overall, the name Jacqlyn has a rich history dating back to medieval France and has been borne by several influential women throughout the centuries, from royalty to authors and aviators.
People
Jacqlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacqlyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacqlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacqlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 689 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacqlyn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 497,466 US residents.
Is Jacqlyn a common name?
We classify Jacqlyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 759 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacqlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacqlyn was 1987, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacqlyn is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jacqlyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacqlyn in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.