Jacen
Masculine
Jacen has an unusually precise origin: it was coined for a character in a science-fiction novel published in 1993, and the American records show it appearing shortly afterwards.
How old is the name Jacen?
Jacen first appears in US birth records in 1970 — 55 years ago. The typical Jacen alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 2,400 people named Jacen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jacen most popular?
Jacen peaked in 2013, reaching #1070 nationally. Today it ranks #3658, 2,588 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Jacen
Ours, offered as ours. A great many modern names have datable arrivals, but few are as clean as this one: a novel published in 1993 named a character Jacen, and the spelling — which no one had used before — appears in the American records immediately afterwards and rises for a decade. Jason with a c is not a variant; it is a coinage that a book put into circulation. That is worth knowing, and the Greek healer somewhere behind Jason is worth knowing too.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No meaning attaches to the coinage. It is generally read as a respelling of Jason, from Greek Iason, built on a verb meaning to heal, though the author's own source is not documented. The spelling with a c is the marker of the fictional origin.
Pronouncing Jacen
JAY-sen
Two syllables, first stressed. Identical in sound to Jason.
Nicknames for Jacen
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1970
- Most boys named
- 2013175 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1070reached in 2013
- Change vs 2024
- −37.5%30 in 2025, from 48
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jacen in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jason in English — related form
- Jayce in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Georgia.
Jacens among us
people named Jacen are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 56,936 born in 2025 was named Jacen
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Jacen
- #3658
- Jacen on the 2025 chart
- #880
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Jacen went to 30 boys in 2025, but Jasen is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 48, which makes it the 880th most-given boys’ name of the year — 2,778 places above the chart.
- Jacen30
- Jasen18
About 1 boy in 35,585 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 56,936 for Jacen itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Lucus test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jacen's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lucus climbed just as high around 1980, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lucus's path sketches the road Jacen is walking now.
Jacen sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jacen is headed
Jacen should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jacen beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jacen in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A documented moment of arrival, which very few names can claim.
- Jace and Jay are both complete short forms that work at any age.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- Jason is far more common and will be assumed and written.
- The novel association is specific and strong for one audience.
- There is no meaning as such, only a coinage and a resemblance.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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Jacen
Masculine · #3658 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jacens are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,400 people named Jacen are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Jacen?
- Jacen is the most-used spelling in US records — 30 of the 48 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Jasen.
- How popular is the name Jacen in 2025?
- Jacen ranks #3658 among US boy names in 2025, with 30 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jacen?
- About 1 in every 56,936 US boys born in 2025 was named Jacen — 30 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jacen with classmates?
- Jacen will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jacen
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jimmie#3658 · Mckinley#3658 · Menno#3658 · Claudio#3658 · Ezekial#3658 · Brandt#3658 · Benuel#3658 · Gustav#3658
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jacen? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jacen and another name?
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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