Jackalyn
Feminine · “A spelling of Jacqueline”
Jackalyn is Jacqueline spelled as English speakers say it. Two Jacquelines show the name's nerve: an American writer who turned her childhood into poems, and a French pilot who flew again after a crash that nearly killed her.
How old is the name Jackalyn?
Jackalyn first appears in US birth records in 1942 — 83 years ago. The typical Jackalyn alive today was born around 1990, making them about 35 years old. About 500 people named Jackalyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jackalyn most popular?
Jackalyn peaked in 1942, reaching #2986 nationally. See the whole 1942 chart.
Where it comes from
From Jacques to Jackalyn
The story of Jackalyn
Jacqueline Woodson grew up between South Carolina and Brooklyn, and her memoir in verse, Brown Girl Dreaming, won the National Book Award; she later served as the country's Young People's Poet Laureate. Jacqueline Auriol, a passenger in a seaplane crash, needed years of surgery to rebuild her face; she then trained as a test pilot, set world speed records and was among the first women to fly faster than sound. Jackalyn is one of the spellings American families used.
Meaning
A spelling of Jacqueline, from Jacques
Jacqueline is the feminine of French Jacques, the name behind James and Jacob. Jackalyn writes it by sound.
How the name formed
- Jacques
- Jacqueline
- Jackalyn
Related forms: Jacqueline · Jacklyn
Pronouncing Jackalyn
JAK-uh-lin
Three syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Jackalyn
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
- 1942
- Most girls named
- 200622 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2986reached in 1942
- Change vs 2011
- −12.5%7 in 2014, from 8
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.
Jackalyn in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jacqueline in French — spelling variant
- Jacklyn in English — spelling variant
Jackalyns among us
people named Jackalyn are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Jackalyn sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Sounds like Jacqueline, a name everyone knows.
- Spelled as it is said.
- Comes with Jackie as a ready pet form.
- Many will write Jacqueline or Jaclyn.
- The spelling contains the word jackal, which children may notice.
- It will need spelling out.
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Jackalyn
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jackalyns are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Jackalyn are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jackalyn in 2025?
- Jackalyn is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jackalyn with classmates?
- Jackalyn will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jackalyn? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jackalyn and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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