Jack

See also: jack

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Biblical Hebrew עָקַב

Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ)bor.

Ancient Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb)

Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos)bor.

Latin Iācōbusslbor.?

French Jacquesder.

Middle English Jackin

English Jack

From Middle English Jak, Jakke (also Jackin, Jankyn, etc.), from Anglo-Norman Jakke, *Janke, from Middle Dutch Janke, diminutive of Jan (“John”); equivalent to John +‎ -kin. Doublet of Yankee.

It can be also used as nickname for Jacob. Though the name was originally a pet form, it has become more of an independent name. See also Middle French Hennequin, Jannequin, Middle Dutch Janneken, English Jake and Jacques.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈd͡ʒæk/, [ˈd͡ʒæk]

  • Audio (Australia):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -æk
• Hyphenation: Jack

Proper noun

Jack (countable and uncountable, plural Jacks)

1. A unisex given name derived from a pet form of the name John. Occasionally a diminutive of other given names such as Jackson, Jacob, Jacqueline or Jonathan.
   • c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:

     Since every Jack became a gentleman
     there's many a gentle person made a Jack.

   • c. 1597, William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, with the Life and Death of Henry, Sirnamed Hot-spvrre”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, act II, scene iv, page 58, column 1:

     Heere comes leane Iacke, heere comes bare-bone. How now my ſweet Creature of Bombaſt, how long is't agoe, Iacke, ſince thou ſaw'ſt thine owne Knee?

   • 1895, Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest […] , [Act I]:

     JACK. Well, really, Gwendolen, I must say that I think that there are lots of other much nicer names. I think Jack, for instance, a charming name.
     GWENDOLEN. Jack?...No, there is very little music in the name Jack, if any at all, indeed. It does not thrill. It produces absolutely no vibrations...I have known several Jacks, and they all, without exception, were more than usually plain. Besides, Jack is a notorious domesticity for John!

   • 2018 April 23, Chuck Johnston, “Judge not allowed back to court after berating woman who died”, in CNN‎^[1], archived from the original on 12 November 2025:

     Chief Judge Jack Tuter, who oversees the 17th Judicial Circuit Court in Fort Lauderdale, released a statement over the weekend berating Ehrlich for her conduct.

2. A surname.
   • 2017 May 31, “Aberdeen: Ash Taylor & Lawrence Shankland join players leaving Pittodrie”, in BBC Sport‎^[2], archived from the original on 24 May 2021, retrieved 2 September 2026:

     Aberdeen have confirmed, external Ash Taylor and Lawrence Shankland will follow Ryan Jack, Niall McGinn and Peter Pawlett in leaving the club this summer.

3. (colloquial) Jack Daniel's, a brand of Tennessee whiskey.
   • 2009, “Tik Tok”, performed by Ke$ha (Kesha Rose Sebert):

     Before I leave, brush my teeth with a bottle of Jack.

   • 2017, Halsey, Ricky Reed, Justin Tranter, Rogét Chahayed, “Bad at Love”, in Hopeless Fountain Kingdom‎^[3], performed by Halsey:

     Got a boy back home in Michigan / And it tastes like Jack when I'm kissing him / So I told him that I never really liked his friends / Now he's gone and he's calling me a bitch again

4. An unincorporated community in Coffee County, Alabama, United States.
5. An unincorporated community in Dent County, Missouri, United States.
6. Ellipsis of Monterey Jack, a type of cheese.

Derived terms

• Big Jacks Creek
• cheapjack
• Colby-Jack
• get from a Cracker Jack box
• Happy Jack
• I'm alright and fuck you Jack
• Jack and Danny
• Jack ashore
• Jack cheese
• Jack County
• jackeen
• Jack-go-to-bed-at-noon
• Jack Horner pie
• Jackintosh
• Jack-jump-up-and-kiss-me
• Jacko
• Jack Presbyter
• Jack-pudding
• Jack River
• Jacksboro
• Jacks Creek
• Jack shit
• Jack Sparrow
• Jack squat
• jackstay
• Jackster
• Jack tar
• Jack-with-a-lantern
• Janto
• Jate
• Little Jacks Creek
• Monterey Jack
• pepper Jack

• diminutives: Jacky, Jackie
• surnames: Jackson

Descendants

• → Danish: Jack
• → Swedish: Jack

Translations

pet name of John

• Arabic: جَاك m (jak)
• Bengali: জ্যাক (jêk)
• Bulgarian: Джак m (Džak)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 傑克 / 杰克 (zh) (Jiékè)

• Czech: Honza (cs) m, Honzík (cs) m
• Danish: Jack
• Esperanto: Ĵakvo, Joĉjo (eo)
• Finnish: Jussi (fi)
• French: Jeannot (fr) m
• German: Hans (de) m, Hanns (de) m, Hannes (de) m, Hänsel (de) m (dated), Hansel m (Bavarian), Hansl m (Bavarian), Hansi
• Greek: Γιάννης (el) m (Giánnis), Τζακ (el) (Tzak) (transliteration from English)
• Hindi: जैक m (jaik)
• Hungarian: Jancsi (hu), Jankó (hu)
• Italian: Gianni (it) m
• Japanese: ジャック (ja) (Jakku)
• Korean: 잭 (Jaek)
• Latin: Iohannes m, Ioannes (la) m
• Maltese: Ġwakkin
• Māori: Haki
• Marathi: जॅक m (jĕk)
• Persian: جک (fa) (jak)
• Polish: Jasiek (pl) m, Jaś (pl) m
• Portuguese: João (pt) m
• Russian: Ва́ня (ru) m (Vánja), Джек (ru) m (Džek) (transliteration)
• Scots: Jock
• Scottish Gaelic: Seoc m
• Slovak: Jano m, Janko m
• Slovene: Janko, Jani
• Spanish: Juanito (es) m
• Swedish: Jack (sv) c
• Welsh: Jac m

anglicized form of Jacques

• Abkhaz: Еқәыԥ (Ekʷəp)
• Afrikaans: Jakobus (af), Jaco, Jako
• Aghwan: 𐔺𐔰𐕄𐕒𐔱 (yaḳob)
• Arabic: جَاك m (jak), يَعْقُوب (ar) m (yaʕqūb), جَيْمْس m (jayms), جَايْمْز m (jaymz) (transliteration)
• Aragonese: Chaime
• Aramaic:

  Syriac: ܝܥܩܘܒ

• Armenian: Հակոբ (hy) (Hakob)

  Old Armenian: Յակոբ (Yakob)

• Azerbaijani: Ceyms
• Bashkir: Яҡуп (Yaqup)
• Basque: Jakes
• Belarusian: Я́каў m (Jákaw)
• Bengali: জ্যাক (jêk)
• Breton: Jagu, Jakez (br)
• Bulgarian: Я́ков m (Jákov), Джак m (Džak)
• Catalan: Jaume (ca), Xaume
• Cebuano: Santiago
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 雅各 (ngaa⁵ gok³)

  Eastern Min: 雅各 (Ngā-gáuk)

  Mandarin: 傑克 / 杰克 (zh) (Jiékè)

• Comorian:

  Ngazidja Comorian: Yakub, Yakuba

• Coptic: ⲓⲁⲕⲱⲃ (iakōb)
• Cornish: Jago
• Corsican: Ghjàcumu (co)
• Czech: Jakub (cs) m
• Danish: Jakob (da), Jacob, Jack
• Dutch: Jaap (nl), Jakob (nl), Jacob (nl), Jacobus
• Esperanto: Jakobo
• Estonian: Jaak
• Ewe: Yakob m
• Faroese: Jákup (fo), Jakob, Jacob
• Finnish: Jaakko (fi)
• Franco-Provençal: Jâque
• French: Jacques (fr), Jacob (fr), Jack (fr)
• Frisian:

  West Frisian: Jakobus, Japik

• Friulian: Jacum
• Galician: Iago (gl), Xacobe (gl), Xácome (gl), Xaime (gl), Santiago (gl) m
• Georgian: იაკობი (iaḳobi), ჯეიმზ (ǯeimz) (transliteration)
• German:

  Bavarian: Jackl

• Greek: Ιάκωβος (el) m (Iákovos), Ιακώβ (el) m (Iakóv), Τζέιμς (el) (Tzéims)

  Ancient Greek: Ἰάκωβος m (Iákōbos)

• Greenlandic: Jaaku (kl)
• Hausa: Yaƙubu
• Hawaiian: Kimo, Iakopo, Iakopa
• Hebrew: (transcription) ג׳ק m
• Hindi: जैक (jaik)
• Hungarian: Jakab (hu)
• Icelandic: Jakob (is), Jakop (is), Jaki (is), Jack (is)
• Ido: Iakobus (io) m
• Inuktitut: ᔮᑯᑉ (yaakop)
• Irish: Séamas (ga) m, Séamus m
• Italian: Giacomo (it), Giacobbe (it) m, Jacopo (it) m, Iago (it) m
• Japanese: ヤコブ (Yakobu), ジャック (ja) (Jakku), ジェームズ (Jēmuzu), ジェイムズ (Jeimuzu), サンティアゴ (ja) (Santiago)
• Korean: 야곱 (yagop), 야고보 (Yagobo), 제임스 (Jeimseu), 잭 (Jaek)
• Latin: Iacobus (la) m, Jacobus m, Jacomus (Late Latin)
• Latvian: Jēkabs m, (transliteration) Džeimss m
• Limburgish: Jakobus
• Lithuanian: Jokūbas
• Macedonian: Јаков m (Jakov)
• Malay: Yakub, Yaakub, Yaacob (British misspelling)
• Maltese: Ġakbu (mt)
• Manchu: ᠶᠠᡴᠣᠪ (yakob)
• Manx: Jamys (gv)
• Māori: Hākopa, Haki, Hēmi (mi)
• Marathi: जॅक m (jĕk)
• Navajo: Jéíkab
• Norman: Jâcob m, Jimce m
• Norwegian: Jakob (no), Jacob (no), Jack (no)
• Occitan: Jammes, James (oc), Jacme (oc) (Provençal), Jaume (oc)
• Persian: یعقوب (fa) (ya'qub), جیمز (fa) (jeymz)
• Polish: Jakub (pl)
• Portuguese: Jacó (pt) m, Iago (pt), Tiago (pt), Diogo (pt), Jaime (pt)
• Romanian: Iacob (ro)
• Russian: Я́ков (ru) (Jákov), Джеймс (ru) m (Džejms) (transliteration)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: Jáhkot

• Scots: Hamish, Jaucob, Jack, Jock, James, Jamie, Jeames, Peem
• Scottish Gaelic: Seumas (gd), Sheumais (gd)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: Јаков

  Latin: Jakov m

• Sicilian: Jàbbucu m, Jàcumu m
• Slovak: Jakub
• Slovene: Jakob (sl) m
• Spanish: Jacobo (es), Jacob (es), Santiago (es), Santi (es), Diego (es), Jaime (es), Yago (es), Iago
• Swahili: Yakobo (sw), Yaakub
• Swedish: Jakob (sv), Jacob (sv), Jack (sv) c
• Tagalog: Jaime, Santiago (tl)
• Thai: ยาโคบ (yaa-kôhp)
• Turkish: Yakub, Yakup (tr)
• Ukrainian: Я́ків m (Jákiv)
• Vietnamese: Giacôbê, Giacôbe, Giacóp, Giacơ, Yacôbê
• Walloon: Djåke (wa)
• Waray-Waray: Santiago
• Welsh: Jac m, Iago (cy)
• Yiddish: יעקבֿ m (yakev)
• Zealandic: Jakobus

Noun

Jack (plural Jacks)

1. (informal) A placeholder or conventional name for any man, particularly a younger, lower-class man.
   • 1946 April 22, Bobby Troup, “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”, in New Juke Box Hits, performed by Chuck Berry, published March 1961, side 2, track 2:

     Well, if you ever plan to motor west / Jack, take my way, it's the highway that's the best / Get your kicks on Route 66

2. (informal, archaic) Ellipsis of Jack Tar, a sailor.
   • 1899, Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness, section 1:

     When he went home on leave he rioted on a large scale—pompously. Jack ashore—with a difference—in externals only.

3. (informal, archaic) Ellipsis of Jack Rum, a soldier.
4. A jacqueminot rose.

Usage notes

• Despite being a common noun, the word is still treated as a name and capitalized as such. The name is most often used with a descriptive "surname", showing the type of lad intended.

Synonyms

• John, Jacques, Jacob, James

Coordinate terms

• Joan, Jill, Jane

Derived terms

• all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
• cheapjack
• every man Jack
• Jack and Jill
• Jack and Jill bathroom
• Jack and Jill bedroom
• Jack Benny
• Jack Frost
• Jack Ketch
• Jack Nasty
• Jack of all trades
• Jack o' the clock
• Jack out of doors
• Jack Pudding
• Jack Robinson, before you can say Jack Robinson
• Jack Russell
• jacktar, Jack Tar
• Jack the lad
• Jack the Ripper
• Jack whore
• Union Jack
• Whispering Jack

Danish

Etymology

From English Jack.

Proper noun

Jack

1. a male given name

Swedish

Etymology

From English Jack. First recorded as a Swedish name in 1883.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Jack c (genitive Jacks)

1. a male given name