Given name & surname · also Middle English
Jake
“supplanter”·“heel grabber”
Jake is more than a clipped Jacob: it also has a separate history as a Middle English variant of Jack. That gives this short name two routes into everyday use.
Meaning & origin
What it means
When used as a short form of Jacob, Jake shares the traditional “supplanter” and “heel grabber” interpretations of that biblical name family. Jake also has an older connection with Jack, so the Jacob explanation belongs to one route in its history.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
Jake developed in English. One route connects it with Jack in the Middle English period; another uses it as a shortened form of Jacob.
How it developed
The Jack connection is a spelling and form relationship, while the Jacob connection is a shortening. They should remain separate explanations even though they converge on the same four-letter name.
The story
Jake was already a variant of Jack in Middle English and later came into use as a given name in its own right. Its use as a short form of Jacob adds another naming tradition rather than replacing the earlier one.
Jake through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 129,539
- 129,322 boys · 217 girls
- Most popular year
- 2004
- 4,487 babies
- 2025
- 682
- #457 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −41%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 682 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 457 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 40.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 4,473 in 2004. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (70). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 132,610 as a first name in 2020; 958 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jake’s family of names
In English usage, Jake is a diminutive of James. Jake is a form of Jacob. In English usage, Jake is a diminutive of Jacob.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jake has relatives in 14 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Jamesfull form · English
- Jackvariant · English
- Jacobfull form · English, Portuguese
- Johannesvariant · German
- Jakeyvariant
- Jaykevariant
- Jaykvariant
- Jaikvariant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 20
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Jake
- Jake GyllenhaalAmerican actor (born 1980)
- Jake PaulAmerican YouTuber and boxer (born 1997)
- Jake Wesley RogersAmerican pop musician and songwriterborn 1996
- Jake ZyrusFilipino singerborn 1992
- Jake T. AustinAmerican actorborn 1994
- Jake AbelAmerican television actorborn 1987
- Jake LaMottaAmerican boxer (1922–2017)
- Jake LloydAmerican actorborn 1989
- Jake SullivanAmerican attorney and politician (born 1976)
Characters named Jake: Jake Sully (James Cameron's Avatar character), Jake Sisko (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Jake Chambers (Stephen King's "The Dark Tower"), Jake Muller (Resident Evil 6).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Jake, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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