Jacques

Where Jacques comes from

The dictionaries list Jacques as a given name — a male given name from French [in turn from Latin, in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], feminine equivalent Jacqueline, equivalent to English Jacob — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • French
  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1491
    Jacques Cartier born
    Breton maritime explorer of North America
  2. 1819
    Jacques Offenbach born
    German-born French composer
  3. 1888
    First appearance
    #917 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  4. 1969
    Peak, #601
    170 babies named Jacques — more than any year before or since.
  5. 2012
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #1,959.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from French [in turn from Latin, in turn from Ancient Greek, in turn from Biblical Hebrew], feminine equivalent Jacqueline, equivalent to English Jacob.
Namesakes
  • Jacques Cartier · Breton maritime explorer of North America, 1491–1557
  • Jacques Offenbach · German-born French composer, 1819–1880
  • Jacques Derrida · French philosopher, 1930–2004
  • Jacques Lacan · French psychoanalyst and writer, 1901–1981
  • Jacques Brel · Belgian singer, 1929–1978

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.