Name root

Jack

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.

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Jack at a glance

Origin
English
Root meaning
“John”
Pronunciation (IPA)
/ˈd͡ʒæk/, [ˈd͡ʒæk]

Etymology

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.

Meaning and etymology from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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FAQ

What does the name Jack mean?

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. Its root means "John".

This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 ("SRD 5.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Mythology and video game character facts from Wikidata (CC0). Name roots from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).