How popular is the baby name Jack in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Jack.

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Popularity of the baby name Jack


Posts that mention the name Jack

How did Jess Willard influence baby names in the 1910s?

Heavyweight boxer Jess Willard (1881-1968)
Jess Willard

In late 1908, Jack Johnson became the first African-American world heavyweight boxing champion.

During Johnson’s reign, promoters actively searched for a “great white hope” — a white contender to defeat him.

Several white boxers (including former title holder James Jeffries) challenged Johnson, but were unsuccessful.

The one who finally triumphed? Jess Willard.

In April of 1915, Willard — a six-and-a-half-foot-tall Kansas-born wheat farmer — fought Johnson in Havana, Cuba. Upon knocking Johnson out in the 26th round, Willard became the new heavyweight champion.

Boxing match between Jack Johnson and Jess Willard in Cuba (Apr. 1915)
Jack Johnson vs. Jess Willard

The same year, the baby names Jess and Willard both reached peak usage (and Willard its highest-ever ranking) among U.S. babies:

Boys named JessBoys named Willard
1917352 (rank: 273rd)2,188 (rank: 80th)
1916485 (rank: 220th)2,413 (rank: 69th)
1915577† (rank: 193rd)2,889† (rank: 58th)
1914258 (rank: 271st)1,302 (rank: 92nd)
1913180 (rank: 296th)926 (rank: 99th)
†Peak usage

(The rise of both names during first half of the 1910s was also likely fueled by Jess Willard, who’d been boxing professionally since early 1911.)

“Jess” and “Willard” were particularly popular in a handful of U.S states:

Rank of Jess in 1915Rank of Willard in 1915
West Virginia64th (35 boys)19th (117 boys)
Oklahoma71st (56 boys)33rd (100 boys)
Kentucky89th (37 boys)36th (113 boys)
Virginia200th (13 boys)39th (90 boys)
Kansas120th (20 boys)40th (82 boys)
Tennessee78th (41 boys)41st (89 boys)
Missouri108th (40 boys)42nd (134 boys)

According to records, hundreds of the baby boys named Jess in 1915 were also given the middle name Willard. Some examples…

Many other babies were also given the first-middle combo “Jess Willard” during the ensuing years of Willard’s reign, which ended in July of 1919 (when Willard was knocked out by Jack Dempsey).

What are your thoughts on the boy names Jess and Willard? (Which one do you prefer?)

P.S. The second African-American to win the title of world heavyweight boxing champion was Joe Louis, in 1937.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Jess Willard 1915 (LOC) and Knockout – Willard-Johnson fight, Havana (LOC)

Popular baby names in Colorado, 1997

Flag of Colorado
Flag of Colorado

Back in 1997, the western U.S. state of Colorado welcomed 56,505 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Hannah and Jacob, according to data from the Health Statistics Section of Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment.

The state also revealed the top names within each of its three largest racial/ethnic groups, which it defined as “White/non-Hispanic,” “White/Hispanic,” and “Black.”

Number of babiesTop girl nameTop boy name
White/non-Hispanic38,729 (69%)HannahJacob
White/Hispanic12,951 (23%)JessicaJose
Black2,582 (5%)JasmineIsaiah

Here are Colorado’s top 50 girl names (overall) and top 50 boy names (overall) of 1997:

Girl names

  1. Hannah
  2. Emily
  3. Jessica
  4. Sarah
  5. Madison
  6. Samantha
  7. Taylor
  8. Alexandra
  9. Ashley
  10. Megan
  11. Elizabeth
  12. Rachel
  13. Alyssa
  14. Alexis
  15. Lauren
  16. Emma
  17. Kayla
  18. Morgan
  19. Amanda
  20. Brianna
  21. Jennifer
  22. Jordan
  23. Abigail
  24. Victoria
  25. Nicole
  26. Brittany
  27. Rebecca
  28. Danielle
  29. Katherine
  30. Sierra
  31. Anna
  32. Mariah
  33. Olivia
  34. Amber
  35. Sydney
  36. Stephanie
  37. Jasmine
  38. Brooke
  39. Haley
  40. Maria
  41. Kaitlyn
  42. Gabrielle
  43. Savannah
  44. Allison
  45. Marissa
  46. Bailey
  47. Courtney
  48. Sara
  49. Erin
  50. Mackenzie

Boy names

  1. Jacob
  2. Michael
  3. Matthew
  4. Joshua
  5. Austin
  6. Tyler
  7. Andrew
  8. Christopher
  9. Nicholas
  10. Brandon
  11. Daniel
  12. Ryan
  13. Joseph
  14. Zachary
  15. David
  16. Alexander
  17. Anthony
  18. John
  19. James
  20. Benjamin
  21. Kyle
  22. Samuel
  23. William
  24. Justin
  25. Jonathan
  26. Dylan
  27. Christian
  28. Jordan
  29. Cody
  30. Robert
  31. Nathan
  32. Aaron
  33. Thomas
  34. Eric
  35. Connor
  36. Cameron
  37. Jose
  38. Noah
  39. Adam
  40. Logan
  41. Isaiah
  42. Sean
  43. Gabriel
  44. Caleb
  45. Jack
  46. Cole
  47. Kevin
  48. Trevor
  49. Ethan
  50. Ian

How do these rankings stack up against the U.S. Social Security Administration’s 1997 rankings for Colorado?

The boy names look similar, but there are two significant discrepancies among the girl names: Alexandra ranked 11 spots lower (19th vs. 8th) and Gabrielle ranked 33 spots lower (75th vs. 42nd) on the federal government’s list.

Other names bestowed in Colorado in 1997 included “Elway, Jamaica, and Mars for baby boys, and October, November, Paradise, and Rejoice for baby girls.”

Elway was no doubt inspired by John Elway, the longtime Denver Broncos quarterback who was about to lead the team to its first Super Bowl victory (in January of 1998).

Speaking of Colorado baby names with historical significance…here are posts about Denver (b. 1859), Colorado (b. 1859), Salida (b. 1881), and Silver Dollar (b. 1889).

Source: Birth Statistics Summary 1997 – Colorado Health and Environmental Data (pdf)

Image: Adapted from Flag of Colorado (public domain)

What gave the baby name Sherry a boost in 1962?

The Four Seasons album "Sherry & 11 Others" (1962)
Four Seasons album

The baby name Sherry, already popular in the early 1960s, reached peak usage in 1962 specifically:

  • 1964: 8,495 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 50th]
  • 1963: 9,065 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 49th]
  • 1962: 9,226 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 48th]
  • 1961: 8,358 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 53rd]
  • 1960: 8,314 baby girls named Sherry [rank: 54th]

What accounts for that sudden jump into the girls’ top 50?

The song “Sherry” by The Four Seasons, a vocal quartet led by Frankie Valli (and his distinctive falsetto).

“Sherry,” the group’s second single, was released in July of 1962. In mid-September it reached #1 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 chart (dethroning “Sheila” by Tommy Roe). It remained in the top spot for five weeks straight.

Here’s what “Sherry” sounds like:

Originally entitled “Terry,” the song was written (in about fifteen minutes) by Four Seasons member Bob Gaudio. When Bob shared it with the rest of the group, the reaction was mixed: “[S]ome of the guys liked it and some didn’t.”

Unable to come to a consensus, they played it for their producer, Bob Crewe, over the phone. Crewe loved the song, but not the name. He considered replacing it with Jackie (after First Lady Jackie Kennedy) and Peri (the name of one of his record labels) before settling upon Sherry — a respelling of Cheri, the name of the daughter of one of his good friends, New York disc jockey Jack Spector.

What are your thoughts on the name Sherry? (Do you like it more or less than Sheila?)

P.S. The name’s steep rise in 1946 may be largely attributable to the baby boom, but I think a second influence was the 1946 western Abilene Town, which featured a character named Sherry (played by actress Rhonda Fleming).

Sources:

Popular baby names in Australia, 2023

Flag of Australia
Flag of Australia

In 2023, the country of Australia welcomed 286,998 babies: 139,576 girls and 147,422 boys.

What were the most popular names among Australia’s newborns that year?

We don’t know for sure, because Australia doesn’t release baby name rankings that cover the entire country. But we can look at eight sets of regional Australian rankings — representing Australia’s six states and two most populous territories — and make a guess about the country’s top names overall.

Here are the rankings, ordered by total number of births per region (highest to lowest):

New South Wales

In 2023, New South Wales welcomed 90,000 (31.4%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (NSW, 2023)Top boy names (NSW, 2023)
1. Isla, 403
2. Amelia, 399
3. Olivia, 381
4. Mia, 347
5. Charlotte, 338
6. Ava, 284
7. Lily, 279
8. Evelyn, 267 (tie)
9. Sophia, 267 (tie)
10. Matilda, 261		1. Oliver, 555
2. Noah, 537
3. Leo, 409
4. Henry, 404
5. Theodore, 400
6. Luca, 398
7. Hudson, 385
8. William, 371
9. Lucas, 322
10. Charlie, 308

Victoria

In 2023, Victoria welcomed 72,906 (25.4%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (Victoria, 2023)Top boy names (Victoria, 2023)
1. Amelia, 333
2. Charlotte, 319
3. Olivia, 306
4. Mia, 289
5. Isla, 280
6. Hazel, 266
7. Matilda, 256
8. Ava, 254 (tie)
9. Grace, 254 (tie)
10. Ella, 234		1. Oliver, 514
2. Noah, 461
3. Henry, 374
4. Leo, 357
5. Charlie, 337
6. Luca, 302
7. Jack, 295
8. Archie, 285
9. Hudson, 273
10. Thomas, 270

Queensland

In 2023, Queensland welcomed 58,549 (20.4%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (Queensland, 2023)Top boy names (Queensland, 2023)
1. Isla, 285
2. Charlotte, 279
3. Amelia, 271
4. Harper, 235
5. Olivia, 232
6. Matilda, 207
7. Ivy, 205
8. Mia, 203
9. Willow, 199
10. Ava, 196		1. Oliver, 451
2. Noah, 385
3. Henry, 341
4. Theodore, 328
5. Hudson, 322
6. William, 269
7. Leo, 262
8. Luca, 259
9. Charlie, 246
10. Jack, 244

Western Australia

In 2023, Western Australia welcomed 32,027 (11.2%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (WA, 2023)Top boy names (WA, 2023)
1. Isla, 169
2. Olivia, 152
3. Mia, 145
4. Charlotte, 139
5. Amelia, 136
6. Lily, 127
7. Harper, 110
8. Ava, 105 (tie)
9. Matilda, 105 (tie)
10. Ella, 103		1. Oliver, 231
2. Noah, 210
3. Leo, 156
4. Henry, 143
5. Jack, 142
6. Theodore, 135
7. Hudson, 130
8. Levi, 124
9. William, 123
10. Luca/Thomas, 122 each (tie)

South Australia

In 2023, South Australia welcomed 18,556 (6.5%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (SA, 2023)Top boy names (SA, 2023)
1. Isla, 112
2. Charlotte, 104
3. Olivia, 86
4. Ava, 77
5. Ivy, 73
6. Amelia, 67 (3-way tie)
7. Grace, 67 (3-way tie)
8. Hazel, 67 (3-way tie)
9. Harper, 64 (tie)
10. Mia, 64 (tie)		1. Oliver, 155
2. Henry, 112
3. Leo, 109
4. Noah, 92
5. Theodore, 87
6. Luca, 85
7. Elijah, 84
8. Charlie, 81
9. William, 76
10. Archie/Jack, 73 each (tie)

Australian Capital Territory

In 2023, the ACT (Canberra) welcomed 6,102 (2.1%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (ACT, 2023)Top boy names (ACT, 2023)
1. Amelia (tie)
2. Charlotte (tie)
3. Ava
4. Chloe
5. Evelyn
6. Eleanor (2-way tie)
7. Violet (2-way tie)
8. Isla (2-way tie)
9. Olivia (2-way tie)
10. Harper/Mia (tie)		1. Henry
2. Oliver
3. Theodore (tie)
4. William (tie)
5. Alexander
6. Oscar
7. Jack (tie)
8. Noah (tie)
9. Thomas
10. Charlie/Hudson/Muhammad (3-way tie)

Tasmania

In 2023, Tasmania welcomed 5,567 (1.9%) of Australia’s babies.

Top girl names (Tasmania, 2023)Top boy names (Tasmania, 2023)
1. Hazel
2. Elsie
3. Charlotte
4. Willow
5. Ruby
6. Ivy
7. Daisy
8. Evelyn
9. Matilda
10. Evie		1. Oliver
2. Charlie
3. Theodore
4. Noah
5. Arlo
6. Henry
7. Leo
8. Archie
9. George
10. Lucas

Northern Territory

In 2023, Northern Territory welcomed 3,282 (1.1%) of Australia’s babies.

[Unfortunately, NT’s 2023 rankings haven’t been released yet. As soon as they are, though, I’ll add them to the post!]

map of Australia

Australia overall

Using the data above, let’s make a guess about Australia’s top baby names overall.

Here’s what I came up with:

Possible top girl names (Australia, 2023)Possible top boy names (Australia, 2023)
1. Isla
2. Amelia
3. Charlotte
4. Olivia
5. Mia		1. Oliver
2. Noah
3. Henry
4. Leo
5. Theodore

What are your thoughts on these? (Which names would you have put at the top?)

P.S. I guessed that Charlotte and Oliver were the #1 names in the country in 2022…

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Australia (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Australia location map by NordNordWest under CC BY-SA 3.0.