Jacquelyn
Jacquelyn was the 2286th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 80 babies. Its best year was 1951, when it ranked 163rd with 1,906 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,085 places. More babies were named Jacquelyn in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning (as Jacqueline) feminine of Jacques (James, Jacob) · French, Hebrew
- Rank in 2025
- #2,286 girls, down 578 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 80girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19511,906 babies
- Total since 1880
- 85,307babies recorded
What does the name Jacquelyn mean?
Jacquelyn is a spelling of Jacqueline, pronounced the same way, so it shares Jacqueline's meaning and origin.
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
Jacquelyn popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 110 since 1942.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,286 | 80 |
| 2020 | #1,708 | 119 |
| 2010 | #867 | 308 |
| 2000 | #359 | 831 |
| 1990 | #221 | 1,298 |
| 1980 | #249 | 1,036 |
| 1970 | #300 | 951 |
| 1960 | #282 | 1,045 |
| 1950 | #167 | 1,724 |
| 1940 | #241 | 692 |
| 1930 | #240 | 666 |
| 1920 | #801 | 82 |
| 1910 | #2,272 | 6 |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Jacquelyn, counting every spelling?
Jacquelyn is a spelling of Jacqueline, a name family that ranked #448 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #2,286 for Jacquelyn 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 Jacquelyn?
80 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jacquelyn (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Jacquelyn 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 105 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jacquelyn.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jacquelyn?
About 66,300 people born in the US named Jacquelyn are alive today, with a median age of 50; half are between 36 and 69. That makes Jacquelyn 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.
Jacquelyn by state
How common Jacquelyn 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 Jacquelyn: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jacquelyn, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name Jacquelyn
What does Jacquelyn mean?
Jacquelyn is a spelling of Jacqueline, which means “feminine of Jacques (James, Jacob)” (French, Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Jacquelyn?
Jacquelyn was the 2286th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 80 babies. Its best year was 1951, when it ranked 163rd with 1,906 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,085 places. More babies were named Jacquelyn in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is Jacquelyn a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Jacquelyn in the US.
Where is Jacquelyn most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jacquelyn was most common in Washington (0.08 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Texas.