Jacqueline
Jacqueline was the 558th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 541 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 37th; the most babies were born in 1964 (11,975). Over the last ten years it has moved down 300 places. More babies were named Jacqueline in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Jacques (James, Jacob) · French, Hebrew
Say it JAK-uh-lin /ˈdʒækəlɪn/
- Rank in 2025
- #558 girls, down 115 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 541girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 196411,975 babies
- Total since 1880
- 427,479babies recorded
What does the name Jacqueline mean?
Jacqueline is a French feminine diminutive of Jacques, the French form of James and Jacob, as Wiktionary notes. DMNES derives Jacob from Hebrew 'aqev, "heel", recalling the story in Genesis of Jacob holding his twin's heel at birth. Jacqueline Kennedy made the name especially popular in the US in the 1960s.
Jacques (French, “James, Jacob”)יַעֲקֹב (Biblical Hebrew, “Jacob (linked to 'heel')”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Jackie, Jacquelyn, Jacklyn, Jacques.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- 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
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Jacqueline', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Jacqueline
The usual nicknames for Jacqueline are Jackie and Jacqui. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Jacqueline in the last five years, 14 were named Jackie, against 4 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jackie · also for Jack, Jaclyn | Traditional | #2,163 | 398 |
| Jacqui | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jacquelines go by each one.
Jacqueline popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,391 since 1923.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #558 | 541 |
| 2020 | #443 | 696 |
| 2010 | #171 | 1,809 |
| 2000 | #64 | 5,037 |
| 1990 | #67 | 5,237 |
| 1980 | #81 | 3,879 |
| 1970 | #66 | 5,576 |
| 1960 | #85 | 5,654 |
| 1950 | #55 | 6,455 |
| 1940 | #76 | 3,215 |
| 1930 | #74 | 3,414 |
| 1920 | #282 | 540 |
| 1910 | #546 | 56 |
| 1900 | #843 | 20 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Jacqueline, counting every spelling?
Jacqueline is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #448 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #558 for Jacqueline on its own. Together these spellings went to 726 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jacqueline | 541 | #558 | 2,910 |
| Jacquelyn | 80 | #2,286 | 472 |
| Jaqueline | 66 | #2,629 | 339 |
| Jaquelin | 12 | #8,574 | 89 |
| Jacquelin | 8 | #11,317 | 66 |
| Jaquelyn | 5 | #15,911 | 61 |
| Jacquelynn | 14 | #7,641 | 53 |
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 Jacqueline?
541 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jacqueline (0.15 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jacqueline 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 16 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jacqueline.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jacqueline?
About 333,100 people born in the US named Jacqueline are alive today, with a median age of 54; half are between 35 and 66. That makes Jacqueline 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.
Jacqueline by state
How common Jacqueline was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Massachusetts (1.7×), Arizona (1.6×), California (1.5×), Nevada (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Iowa, Mississippi, Arkansas.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jacqueline: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jacqueline, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jacqueline · Sibling names for Jacqueline
Questions about the name Jacqueline
What does Jacqueline mean?
Jacqueline means “feminine of Jacques (James, Jacob)” (French, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jacqueline?
Jacqueline was the 558th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 541 babies. Its best year was 1961, when it ranked 37th; the most babies were born in 1964 (11,975). Over the last ten years it has moved down 300 places. More babies were named Jacqueline in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Jacqueline a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jacqueline in the US.
Where is Jacqueline most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jacqueline was most common in Massachusetts (0.60 per 1,000 girls), followed by Arizona and California.