Find out how popular the last name Jack is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Jack.

Jack, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Jack surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Jack in America

Jack is the 2382nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Jack surname appeared 15,256 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Jack.

We can also compare 2010 data for Jack to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Jack

The surname Jack is an English surname derived from the medieval personal name John, which itself is derived from the Hebrew name Yohanan, meaning "Yahweh is gracious". The surname Jack originated as a diminutive or nickname form of the name John.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Jack dates back to the late 13th century in England. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, which mentions a person named Roberd Jake.

The surname Jack has been found in various historical records throughout the centuries, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which lists a John Jake in Oxfordshire, and the Pipe Rolls of Norfolk from 1230, which mention a William Jak.

In the 14th century, the surname Jack was sometimes spelled as Jakke or Jacke. The name was also associated with various place names, such as Jackfield in Shropshire and Jackhouse in Northumberland.

One notable person with the surname Jack was John Jack (1513-1589), a Scottish prelate who served as the Bishop of Glasgow from 1551 to 1571. Another prominent individual with this surname was Gilbert Jack (1578-1628), a Scottish mathematician and physician who made significant contributions to the study of logarithms.

In the 17th century, the surname Jack was also found in the United States, with one of the earliest recorded instances being John Jack, who was born in Virginia in 1639. Another notable American with this surname was Peter Jack (1766-1836), a sailor and merchant from Boston who played a role in the War of 1812.

In the 19th century, a famous individual with the surname Jack was William Jack (1834-1924), a Scottish botanist and geologist who conducted extensive research in India and served as the curator of the Calcutta Botanical Gardens.

The surname Jack has also been associated with various occupations and trades throughout history, such as jacksmith, which referred to a maker of jacks or lifting devices used in mills and other machinery.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Jack

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Jack.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Jack was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Jack has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Jack was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Jack, please contact us.

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