Jakey
A diminutive form of the English name Jacob of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Jakey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jakey today is around 100 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jakey births was 1935 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jakey. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jakey with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Jakey is about 100 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jakeys were born before 1936.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jakey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1935
5 babies that year
Average age
100
years old
1935 SSA rank
#3,909
Tracked since 1935
Popularity
Jakey: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jakey 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 Jakey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1930s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jakey
The given name Jakey is a diminutive form derived from the Hebrew name Jacob. Jacob is a biblical name that appears in the Old Testament, originating from the Hebrew words "ya'akov" meaning "to follow" or "to supplant." It is believed to have been in use since ancient times, dating back to at least the 2nd millennium BCE.
The name Jacob first appears in the Book of Genesis, where it is given to the younger twin son of Isaac and Rebekah, who later became the patriarch of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The biblical story of Jacob's birth and life, including his struggle with the angel and his renaming to Israel, have made the name significant in Jewish and Christian traditions.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jakey can be found in medieval English records from the 13th century, where it was sometimes spelled as "Jackey" or "Jaky." This diminutive form likely emerged as a way to distinguish between multiple bearers of the name Jacob or as a nickname for a younger child.
Throughout history, the name Jakey has been borne by several notable individuals, including Jakey Thomas (1786-1853), an English cricketer who played for Hampshire and England. Another notable bearer is Jakey Bowen (1850-1901), an American baseball player who played in the major leagues during the late 19th century.
In the literary world, Jakey Borden is a fictional character in the novel "The Shepherd of the Hills" by Harold Bell Wright, published in 1907. This character's full name is Jacob, but he is commonly referred to as Jakey throughout the book.
Other historical figures with the name Jakey include Jakey Saunders (1872-1944), an English football player who played for several clubs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and Jakey Gough (1900-1983), an Irish hurler who played for the Tipperary senior team in the 1920s and 1930s.
It is worth noting that while the name Jakey has been in use for centuries, it has traditionally been more commonly found in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States, due to the influence of the Hebrew name Jacob and its various diminutive forms.
People
Jakey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jakey 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
Jakey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jakey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jakey 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Jakey a common name?
We classify Jakey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jakey most popular?
The single biggest year for Jakey was 1935, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jakey is about 100 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jakey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jakey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jakey in the SSA data are male. 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.
Is Jakey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jakey in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jakey can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Jakey?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.