Jacalyn
Feminine variation of the name Jack, of English origin, meaning "supplanter".
Name Census estimates that about 3,949 living Americans carry the first name Jacalyn. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jacalyn today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacalyn births was 1954 (482 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacalyn. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
3.9K
~ 1 in 86,795 Americans
Peak year
1954
482 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,873
Tracked since 1937
Census
Jacalyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,450 people with the first name Jacalyn, which placed it at #4,270 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#4,270
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,450 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
88.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jacalyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacalyn is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jacalyn described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jacalyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.3% · 3,928
- Black or African American4.4% · 197
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 180
- Two or more races2.0% · 89
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 23
Popularity
Jacalyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacalyn from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 2,599 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacalyn by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jacalyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacalyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. New York, Michigan, Illinois recorded the most babies named Jacalyn, while Virginia, Oregon, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 104 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacalyn
The name Jacalyn has its origins in the medieval French language, emerging as a variant of the more common name Jacqueline during the late Middle Ages. The name Jacqueline itself derives from the masculine name Jacques, which is the French form of the Hebrew name Jacob, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows."
Jacalyn likely gained popularity as a distinct name in its own right during the 13th and 14th centuries, when the use of variant spellings and diminutive forms of names became more widespread across Europe. It was particularly prevalent in regions where the French language held significant influence, such as parts of modern-day France, Belgium, and Switzerland.
While the name does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the biblical Jacob and its French origins tie it to the rich cultural and linguistic traditions of medieval Europe. The earliest recorded instances of the name Jacalyn can be traced back to various historical documents and records from the late medieval period.
One notable individual bearing the name Jacalyn was Jacalyn Duffin, a Canadian medical historian and academic born in 1949. She is known for her contributions to the field of medical humanities and her work on the history of disease and medical practice.
Another prominent figure was Jacalyn Barnett, an American actress and voice artist born in 1946, who lent her voice to numerous animated television shows and video games throughout her career.
In the literary world, Jacalyn Toucey (born 1957) is an American author and professor, best known for her novels exploring themes of family, identity, and the human experience.
Jacalyn Mussehl (1935-2022) was a pioneering American politician and activist who served as the first female mayor of Blacksburg, Virginia, and played a pivotal role in shaping local politics and community development.
Finally, Jacalyn Feir-Geer (born 1972) is a notable American artist and sculptor, renowned for her large-scale public art installations and sculptures that often explore themes of nature, identity, and the human condition.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Jacalyn, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience and achievement.
People
Jacalyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacalyn as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacalyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacalyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,949 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacalyn going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 86,795 US residents.
Is Jacalyn a common name?
We classify Jacalyn as "Rare". It ranks above 96% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacalyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacalyn was 1954, when 482 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacalyn is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jacalyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,450 people with the name Jacalyn, or 1.47 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,270 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jacalyn in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jacalyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jacalyn appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,455 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jacalyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jacalyn is White at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Black (4.4%) and Hispanic (4.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jacalyn most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jacalyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (3,928 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jacalyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jacalyn a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacalyn in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Jacalyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jacalyn in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jacalyn can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Jacalyn?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.