Jaci
Feminine · “the moon”
Jaci arrives from two places that have nothing in common. In English it is a trimming of Jacqueline or Jacinta. In Tupi-Guarani it is the moon — and in the mythology of that language family, the moon is a person with a story.
How old is the name Jaci?
Jaci first appears in US birth records in 1934 — 91 years ago. The typical Jaci alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 5,000 people named Jaci are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jaci most popular?
Jaci peaked in 2005, reaching #1074 nationally. Today it ranks #2895, 1,821 places below that high. See the whole 2005 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
The story of Jaci
Tupi and Guarani were spoken across an enormous part of South America and left a great many words in Brazilian Portuguese, including names for the natural world; jaci, the moon, is among the best known and is used as a given name in Brazil. Separately, English-speaking families have long trimmed Jacqueline and Jacinta to Jackie, Jacqui and Jaci. The American record for this spelling sits mostly with the second road, and the Brazilian one arrives with Brazilian families.
Meaningscholars disagree
the moon — in Tupi-Guarani; or, through Jacqueline, a supplanter
Tupi and Guarani jaci means the moon and names a figure in the mythology of Brazil and Paraguay. That reading is documented. The English road runs through Jacqueline, the French feminine of Jacques, from Jacob, Hebrew Ya'aqov, whose meaning is itself disputed — 'heel-holder' or 'supplanter' by the Genesis wordplay, or a shortened theophoric name. Two roads, two languages, one four-letter spelling.
Pronouncing Jaci
JAY-see
Two syllables, stress on the first, in English. Portuguese says zha-SEE, with a soft zh at the front and the stress at the end — a noticeably different name by ear, though the same four letters.
Nicknames for Jaci
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
- 1934
- Most girls named
- 2004210 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1074reached in 2005
- Change vs 2023
- −7.9%58 in 2025, from 63
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.
Jaci in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jaci in Portuguese — same name
- Jasy in Guarani — spelling variant
- Jacqui in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi.
Jacis among us
people named Jaci are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 27,712 born in 2025 was named Jaci
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Jaci
- #2895
- Jaci on the 2025 chart
- #888
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Jaci went to 58 girls in 2025, but Jacy is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 72, which makes it the 888th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,007 places above the chart.
- Jaci58
- Jacy14
About 1 girl in 22,323 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 27,712 for Jaci 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 Lakiesha test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jaci's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Lakiesha climbed just as high around 1979, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Lakiesha's path sketches the road Jaci is walking now.
Jaci 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 Jaci is headed
Jaci should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High 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.
Jaci beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jaci in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Four letters, two syllables, and easy for a small child to write.
- Jacqueline and Jacinta both stand behind it as formal options on the English road.
- Genuinely at home in two unrelated traditions.
- The Portuguese and English pronunciations are entirely different.
- Jaci, Jacy, Jacqui and Jackie all circulate and get confused.
- As a trimming it can read as informal on a document wanting a full legal name.
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What they receive
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Jaci
Feminine · #2895 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jacis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,000 people named Jaci are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Jaci?
- Jaci is the most-used spelling in US records — 58 of the 72 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Jacy.
- How popular is the name Jaci in 2025?
- Jaci ranks #2895 among US girl names in 2025, with 58 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jaci?
- About 1 in every 27,712 US girls born in 2025 was named Jaci — 58 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jaci with classmates?
- Jaci will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jaci
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Noora#2895 · Mylie#2895 · Vanellope#2895 · Amore#2895 · Miamor#2895 · Alyah#2895 · Alaska#2895 · Anastacia#2895
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jaci? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jaci and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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