Jaci
A feminine diminutive form of various names beginning with "Jac", ultimately deriving from Jacob.
Name Census estimates that about 4,875 living Americans carry the first name Jaci. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jaci today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaci births was 2005 (221 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaci. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jaci with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 70,309 Americans
Peak year
2005
221 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,185
Tracked since 1934
Census
Jaci in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,468 people with the first name Jaci, which placed it at #4,260 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
#4,260
National first-name rank
People counted
4.5K
4,468 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jaci
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaci is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Jaci 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 Jaci at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.2% · 3,404
- Black or African American7.9% · 351
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 337
- Two or more races5.1% · 228
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 67
Popularity
Jaci: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaci from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,703 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaci 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 Jaci during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 27 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Jaci, while Washington, South Carolina, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 89 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaci
The name Jaci is believed to have originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the biblical name Jacob. Jacob is a prominent figure in the Old Testament, known as one of the patriarchs of the Israelites. The name Jacob means "he who supplants" or "he who follows at the heel."
In its Hebrew form, the name Jacob is spelled יעקב (Ya'aqov). Over time, as the name spread across different cultures and languages, it evolved into various spellings and diminutive forms, such as Jaci.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jaci can be traced back to the medieval period in Europe. During the Middle Ages, it was a common practice to create diminutive forms of names, often as terms of endearment or familiarity. Jaci likely emerged as a diminutive of the name Jacob or its variants.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jaci. One prominent example is Jaci Ayvayski (c. 1520-1604), a Bulgarian Orthodox monk and scholar who played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of the Bulgarian people during the Ottoman rule.
Another individual of note is Jaci Maia (1932-2017), a Brazilian singer, composer, and actor. He was renowned for his contributions to the Música Popular Brasileira (MPB) genre and had a successful career spanning over six decades.
In the literary world, Jaci Burton (born 1962) is an American author known for her contemporary romance novels. Her works have been widely celebrated and have received numerous accolades, including being a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.
In the field of sports, Jaci Velásquez (born 1979) is a Mexican-American singer and former professional tennis player. She achieved notable success in both disciplines, with a successful music career and a ranking as high as No. 64 in the world in tennis.
Lastly, Jaci Menezes (born 1962) is a Brazilian journalist and news anchor. She has been a prominent figure in Brazilian television for several decades, known for her work on various news programs and her coverage of major events.
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Jaci throughout history, demonstrating its enduring presence across various cultures and fields.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Jaci
People
Jaci + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaci 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
Jaci: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaci?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,875 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaci 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 70,309 US residents.
Is Jaci a common name?
We classify Jaci as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,096 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaci most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaci was 2005, when 221 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaci is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jaci in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,468 people with the name Jaci, or 1.48 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,260 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 Jaci 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 Jaci?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jaci leans strongly female. 4,414 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 57 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Jaci?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jaci is White at 76.2%. The next largest groups are Black (7.9%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Jaci most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jaci in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.2% (3,404 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 Jaci in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaci a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaci 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 Jaci still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaci 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 Jaci 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 are called Jaci?
You can see how many people share the name Jaci on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.