Jack History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Jack

What does the name Jack mean?

The Scottish surname Jack is generally understood to be derived from the given name John, which in turn came from the French name "Jacques," one of the many names that the Normans brought with them when they conquered England and Scotland. "Jacques," is a form of the Latin name "Jacobus." 1

Early Origins of the Jack family

The surname Jack was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they held a family seat at Woodall between Langbank and the Port of Glasgow from ancient times.

In earlier times they had been located at Kethek in Coupar Angus, and in 1473 William Jack was tenant of the mill in that village. A few years later, Gilbert Jak was listed as a resident of Vddynston in 1498. John Jak held a tenement in Glasgow before 1498 (ibid., p. 500), and Katherine Jak in Stirling was charged with assault in 1545. " 2

Early History of the Jack family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jack research. Another 156 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1498, 1502, 1545, 1567, 1570, 1574, 1577, 1578, 1580, 1586, 1589, 1598, 1628 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Jack History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jack Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Jacke, Jack, Jacks and others.

Early Notables of the Jack family

Thomas Jack (d. 1598), was a Scottish schoolmaster, appointed minister of Rutherglen in the presbytery of Glasgow, in 1567, and subsequently became master of Glasgow grammar school. In 1570 he was pre...
Gilbert Jack (1578?-1628), was a Scottish metaphysician and medical writer, born in Aberdeen about 1578 and was son of Andrew Jack, merchant. 3

Jack World Ranking

In the United States, the name Jack is the 1,852^nd most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Jack is ranked the 8,818^th most popular surname with an estimated 500 - 1,000 people with that name. 5 And in New Zealand, the name Jack is the 522^nd popular surname with an estimated 1,323 people with that name. 6 The United Kingdom ranks Jack as 892^nd with 7,677 people. 7 South Africa ranks Jack as 389^th with 18,532 people. 8

Migration of the Jack family to Ireland

Some of the Jack family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 59 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jack migration to the United States +

Jack Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

William Jack, who arrived in Virginia in 1652 9
Ezekiel Jack, who settled in Virginia in 1663
Polack Jack, who landed in Virginia in 1665 9

Jack Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Martin Jack, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1739 9
Adam Jack, who landed in South Carolina in 1752 9
Morris Jack, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1763 9
Jannet Jack, aged 23, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1775 9
John Jack, aged 30, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1775 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Jack Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Jack, who landed in America in 1802 9
Henry Jack, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 9
James Jack, aged 47, who landed in Delaware in 1812 9
William Jack, aged 37, who landed in Tennessee in 1812 9
Robert Jack, who arrived in Long Island in 1815 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Jack migration to Canada +

Jack Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

William Jack, who settled in St. John's, Newfoundland in 1796 10
Samuel Jack, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1799

Jack Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

James Jack, who landed in Canada in 1820
William Jack, who arrived in Canada in 1820
Ms. Julia Jack, aged 25 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Sir Henry Pottinger" departing 29th May 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 7th August 1847 but she died on board 11

Jack migration to Australia +

Jack Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Alexander Jack, a weaver, who arrived in Van Diemenâ€™s Land (now Tasmania) sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. David Jack, Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Blenheim" on 11th March 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 12
Margaret Jack, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Glenswilly" in 1839 13
Miss. Jane Jack, (Prentice), Scottish convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baretto Junior" on 5th April 1850, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 14
Thomas Jack, aged 31, a miner, who arrived in South Australia in 1851 aboard the ship "Reliance" 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Jack migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Jack Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Jack, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 16
Margaret Jack, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 16
Martha Bell Jack, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 16
John Jack, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 16
Jean Jack, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Jura" in 1861 16
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Jack migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 17

Jack Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. John Jack, aged 27 who arrived in St. Kitts (St Christopher) aboard the ship "Amity" in 1635 9

Contemporary Notables of the name Jack (post 1700) +

Robert "Bob" Jack (1876-1943), Scottish football player and manager
Ryan Jack (b. 1992), Scottish professional footballer
William Jack (1795-1822), Scottish botanist and surgeon employed by the East India Company
Elaine Jack (1928-2025), twelfth Relief Society general president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (1990-1997), served in the general presidency of the church's Young Women organization (1987-1990)
Shayna Jack (b. 1998), Australian swimmer, Gold Medalist at the 2024 Summer Olympics
Sir Daniel Thomson Jack Kt., CBE, Chairman, Air Transport Licensing Board
Ian Jack (1945-2022), British reporter, writer and editor from Farnworth, Lancashire, who edited the Independent on Sunday, the literary magazine Granta and wrote regularly for The Guardian
Andrew Jack (1944-2020), born Andrew Hutchinson, a British dialect coach and actor, perhaps best known for his roles in "Star Wars: Episode VII -- The Force Awakens" and "Star Wars: Episode VIII -- The Last Jedi"; he died from COVID-19
Kelvin Kyron Jack (b. 1976), Trinidadian football goalkeeper
John Michael Jack PC (b. 1946), English politician, Interim Chairman of the Office of Tax Simplification
... (Another 27 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Jack family +

Empress of Ireland

Master David Jack (1912-1914), Canadian Third Class Passenger from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 18
Mrs. Sarah Jack (1879-1914), née Coutts Canadian Third Class Passenger from Toronto, Ontario, Canada who was traveling aboard the Empress of Ireland and died in the sinking 18

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Andrew M. Jack (1856-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who survived the Halifax Explosion (1917) but later died due to injuries 19

HMS Dorsetshire

Ronald William Jack (d. 1945), British Commander Shipwright aboard the HMS Dorsetshire when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he died in the sinking 20

HMS Hood

Mr. George Jack (b. 1922), Scottish Ordinary Seaman serving for the Royal Navy from Dundee, Angus, Scotland, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 21

HMS Royal Oak

James Duffy M. Jack (d. 1939), British Stoker 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 22

Sources +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 81)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) GLENSWILLY 1839 (also called DAWSONS). Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Glenswilly.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baretto-junior
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) RELIANCE 1851. Retrieved http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1851Reliance.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 17) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Force Z Survivors HMS Dorsetshire Crew List, (Retrieved 2018, February 13th), https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listdorsetshirecrew.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html