Jack (pronounced /ˈdʒæk/) is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname. In English it is the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.
The name Jack originates from the Middle English given name Jankin, with variants including Jakken and Jakke, formed by the addition of the diminutive suffix "-kin" (similar to the German...
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Jack (pronounced /ˈdʒæk/) is a male given name, although in very rare cases it can be used as a female given name, and sometimes as a surname. In English it is the diminutive form of the name John, though it is also often given as a proper name in its own right.
The name Jack originates from the Middle English given name Jankin, with variants including Jakken and Jakke, formed by the addition of the diminutive suffix "-kin" (similar to the German "-chen") to the name Jan, itself a contracted version of the French name Jehan (like John formed by shortening from the Latin form Johannes). Jankin became Jakken (or Jackin), and eventually Jack. This short form may have been influenced by the phonologically similar French name Jacques—which is cognate with the names James and Jacob. However, this similarity may be coincidence: native speakers of English have historically associated the name Jack with John and only rarely with the name Jacob, for which the usual shortened form is Jake.
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