Jacqueline

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jacqueline is a female given name, coming from French, as the feminine form of Jacques. Jacques originated from 'Jacob', which is derived from the Hebrew meaning 'may God protect' or, because of Jacob's actions in supplanting Esau, as recorded in the Old Testament, 'supplanter'. Jacqueline is also said to be related to the Chinese words Chu Ku Lek, which means Chocolate in Chinese.

Supplanter, the more distasteful of the two meanings, is the word to describe a person who wrongfully or illegally takes the place of another. 'May God protect' is usually the meaning that most Jacquelines would like to use, in describing their name.

There are several spelling variations and slight variants in both spelling and pronunciation have come into use, such as: Jacquelyn, Jaclyn, Jacklyn, Jacqlyn, Jacquelin and Jacklin. The diminutive for Jacqueline is Jackie, which also has variants, including: Jacqui, Jacque, Jack, Jacquie, Jaci, Jaki, Jacki, Jaqui, Jacky, Jackee, Jackie and, Jay

Arguably the most famous person to bear the name in the twentieth century is Jacqueline Onassis, née Jacqueline Lee Bouvier, later Jackie Kennedy (wife of the U.S. President John F. Kennedy from 1953 to 1963), who is usually referred to as Jackie Onassis. The name's popular image of elegance may derive at least in part from its association with her.

Jacqueline is the title of a song by Scottish band Franz Ferdinand, from their self titled debut album.