Jacqualyn
A feminine name derived from the French Jacques, meaning "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 782 living Americans carry the first name Jacqualyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacqualyn today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacqualyn births was 1950 (30 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacqualyn. 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
782
~ 1 in 438,305 Americans
Peak year
1950
30 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2007 SSA rank
#14,503
Tracked since 1929
Popularity
Jacqualyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacqualyn from the 1920s through to the 2000s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 186 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Jacqualyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacqualyn 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 Jacqualyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacqualyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Jacqualyn, while Texas, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacqualyn
The name Jacqualyn is a feminine given name derived from the French masculine name Jacques. Jacques is the French form of the Late Latin name Jacobus, which in turn is derived from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows". The name Ya'aqov is borne in the Bible by the patriarch Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebecca, and the father of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel.
The name Jacques first gained popularity in France during the Middle Ages, and it was later introduced to England in the form of James. Jacqualyn is a more modern variation that emerged in the 20th century, likely as a combination of the French Jacques and the English feminine suffix -lyn.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Jacqualyn was Jacqualyn Culpepper Faulkner (1926-2011), an American writer and memoirist who was the daughter of the renowned author William Faulkner. Another notable Jacqualyn was Jacqualyn "Jacque" Frakes (1942-1986), an American actress and model who appeared in several films and television shows in the 1960s and 1970s.
In the field of sports, Jacqualyn "Jackie" Stiles (born 1981) is a former American basketball player who played in the WNBA and was a two-time All-American at Missouri State University. Jacqualyn "Jackie" Joyner-Kersee (born 1962) is a legendary American track and field athlete who won six Olympic medals, including three golds, and is considered one of the greatest female athletes of all time.
In the realm of literature, Jacqualyn "Jackie" Woodson (born 1963) is an acclaimed American writer of books for children and young adults, and the recipient of numerous awards, including the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2020.
While the name Jacqualyn is not as common as some other names, it has been borne by a diverse group of individuals throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields and professions.
People
Jacqualyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacqualyn 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
Jacqualyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacqualyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 782 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacqualyn 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 438,305 US residents.
Is Jacqualyn a common name?
We classify Jacqualyn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,053 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacqualyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacqualyn was 1950, when 30 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacqualyn is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jacqualyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacqualyn 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.