Jaqueline

About the Name Jaqueline

Jaqueline is a variant spelling of Jacqueline, the French feminine form of Jacques — the French equivalent of James and Jacob, from the Hebrew Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or, in a more literal reading, "one who follows at the heel." The Hebrew patriarch Jacob received this name in the biblical account because he grasped his twin Esau's heel at birth, and the name has been carried forward through Hebrew, Greek, Latin, French, and English transmission across three millennia. The French feminine form Jacqueline entered wide circulation in the English-speaking world partly through aristocratic and royal connections and partly through cultural prominence in the twentieth century. This particular spelling, Jaqueline — dropping one c — represents a phonetic simplification that has circulated in American records alongside the more standard French orthography.

Jaqueline appears in the US Social Security top-1000 from 2000, debuting at its peak rank of #268. Its presence in the top-1000 was relatively brief: #701 in 2010, #768 in 2011, and #908 in 2012, the last year it appeared in the top-1000. Over its tracked run, approximately 7,598 babies received this spelling in top-1000 years. The broader Jacqueline spelling family is exceptionally extensive; recorded variants include Jacalyn, Jacqualine, Jacqueleen, Jacquelin, Jacquelyn, Jacquelyne, Jacquelynne, and Jaquelin.