Jack (name)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jack is a common English male given name. It was originally a nickname for the names John and Jacob. It was the most common name for newborn boys in England and Wales every year from 1995 to 2005[1][2]. By contrast John is no longer in the top 50.
Although it may appear at first glance to be derived from the French Jacques—which is cognate with the names James and Jacob—native speakers of English would almost certainly associate the name "Jack" with "John," rarely with "Jacob," and probably never with "James."
Rather, it is believed that "Jack" is the result of adding the French diminutive suffix "-kin" (much like the German "-chen") to the name "Jean," which is the French form of the English "John", or "Jan," which is a shortening of the German "Johann." The result would have pronounced as "ZHANG-kin," with the "n" being nasalized, and thus later omitted by Anglophones without much difficulty.
In television and film:
- Jack Nicholson, an American actor
- Jack Black, an American actor
- Jack Scalia, an American actor
- Jack Wagner, an American actor
In music:
- Jack White, American rock musician from the White Stripes.
- Jack Johnson, a singer/songwriter who also plays guitar
In politics:
- John F. Kennedy, was commonly known as Jack
In fiction and folklore:
- Jack Bauer, protagonist of Fox's 24
- Jack and the Beanstalk, an old fairy tale known throughout the world
- Jack Be Nimble, he would jump over candlesticks
- Jack Bristow, father of Sydney Bristow on ABC's Alias
- Jack O'Neill, a USAF Colonel and leader of SG-1, the frontline team for Stargate Command.
- Jack Ryan, the main character in "The Hunt for Red October," "Clear and Present Danger," and other Tom Clancy novels
- Jack Shephard, a doctor and one of the lead characters on ABC's LOST
- Captain Jack Sparrow, lead character of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie series
- Jack Spratt, well known nursery rhyme character. also the main character of Jasper Fforde's Nursery Crime series.
- Jack Skellington, main character in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
- Jack Harkness, omnisexual time agent in Doctor Who and Torchwood.
- Jack McCoy, Executive Assistant District Attorney in Law and Order series.
[edit] References
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Captain Jack Aubrey, featured in Patrick O'Brian's 20 book series.
