Jack has been used as a surname, primarily deriving from the Middle English and Older Scottish personal names such as Jak, Jagge and Jakke, in turn derived from pet forms of John, but perhaps in some cases Jack arose in Middle English from the Old French personal name Jacque(s) (i.e. James).[1]

Frequency

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The occurrence of Jack as a surname is much less frequent than its use as a male forename. In 1990, in the United States, this surname is shared by about 0.007% of the population, though the geographical distribution of the surname has been broad since at least 1840, at which time there was a modest concentration of Jacks in Pennsylvania.[2][3][4] Within the United Kingdom, the surname is considered almost exclusively Scottish.[5] In the late-nineteenth century, the geographic distribution of Jacks in England was also broad, with concentration in North East England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and southern North West England.[6]

Notable people with this surname

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See also

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  • Jacq, surname
  • Jacque, given name and surname
  • Sumner Dagogo-Jack (born 1930), chairman of the National Electoral Commission of Nigeria, 1994–1998

References

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  1. ^ Kay Muhr, Liam Ó hAisibéil, (2021) The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names of Ireland
  2. ^ The male, female, and total populations of the United States in the 1990 census were 121,239,418; 127,470,455; and 248,709,873, respectively. Information from "General Population and Housing Characteristics: 1990". 1990 Summary Tape File 1 (STF 1) – 100-Percent data. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-02-09.[dead link]
  3. ^ "Name search results". Search name files from 1990 Census. United States Census Bureau. 2007-09-07. Archived from the original on 1997-02-07. Retrieved 2008-02-09. NAME(last):JACK ; RANK:1852; %FREQ (CUMM FREQ):0.007 (50.991)
  4. ^ "Jack Family History Facts 1840". Family Facts. The Generations Network, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-10.
  5. ^ "Jack Name Meaning". ancestry.co.uk. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Jack Families Living in England and Wales in 1891". Family Facts. The Generations Network, Inc. Retrieved 2008-02-10.