Jaclyn
Jaclyn was the 2790th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1988, when it ranked 114th with 2,497 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,333 places. More babies were named Jaclyn in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Meaning variant of Jacqueline, from Jacob · French, Hebrew, American English
Say it JAK-lin /ˈdʒæklɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,790 girls, down 1,072 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 61girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19882,497 babies
- Total since 1880
- 49,734babies recorded
What does the name Jaclyn mean?
Jaclyn is a 20th-century spelling of Jacqueline, the French feminine of Jacques (James, Jacob), reshaped with the popular ending -lyn. Jacob is Hebrew; in Genesis 25:26 the name is explained by Jacob being born holding his twin brother's heel (ʿaqev). Jaclyn was most popular in the US in the late 1970s and 1980s.
יַעֲקֹב (Biblical Hebrew, “Yaʿaqov, linked in Genesis to ʿaqev "heel"”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jacqueline, Jacklyn, Jackie, Jacquelyn.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jaclyn', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jacqueline', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Jacob', DMNES (Durham University)
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 25:26, JPS Tanakh (Gender-Sensitive Edition) via Sefaria, Sefaria
Nicknames for Jaclyn
The usual nicknames for Jaclyn are Jackie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jaclyn in the last five years, 102 were named Jackie, against 30 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackie · also for Jack, Jacqueline | Traditional | #2,163 | 398 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jaclyns go by each one.
Jaclyn popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 102 since 1977.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,790 | 61 |
| 2020 | #1,718 | 118 |
| 2010 | #1,340 | 176 |
| 2000 | #452 | 614 |
| 1990 | #143 | 2,155 |
| 1980 | #168 | 1,693 |
| 1970 | #1,375 | 76 |
| 1960 | #1,734 | 43 |
| 1950 | #984 | 86 |
| 1940 | #1,608 | 24 |
| 1930 | #3,186 | 9 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Jaclyn, counting every spelling?
Jaclyn is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #1,205 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,790 for Jaclyn on its own. Together these spellings went to 177 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jaclyn | 61 | #2,790 | 392 |
| Jacklyn | 68 | #2,570 | 346 |
| Jacklynn | 32 | #4,398 | 155 |
| Jaclynn | 16 | #6,956 | 85 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jaclyn?
61 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jaclyn (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jaclyn born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 138 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jaclyn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jaclyn?
About 47,600 people born in the US named Jaclyn are alive today, with a median age of 39; half are between 33 and 44. That makes Jaclyn mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jaclyn by state
How common Jaclyn was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. In 41 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jaclyn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jaclyn, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jaclyn · Sibling names for Jaclyn
Questions about the name Jaclyn
What does Jaclyn mean?
Jaclyn means “variant of Jacqueline, from Jacob” (French, Hebrew, American English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jaclyn?
Jaclyn was the 2790th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 61 babies. Its best year was 1988, when it ranked 114th with 2,497 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,333 places. More babies were named Jaclyn in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Is Jaclyn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jaclyn in the US.
Where is Jaclyn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jaclyn was most common in Kentucky (0.07 per 1,000 girls), followed by Michigan and California.