As the name of John the Baptist and John the Evangelist, it was one of the most frequent Christian given names, and in England by early 14c. Old English had the Biblical name as Iohannes. The -h- in English was inserted in imitation of the Medieval Latin form. Greek conformed the Hebrew ending to its own customs. proper name, Middle English Jon, Jan (mid-12c.), from Old French Jan, Jean, Jehan (Modern French Jean), from Medieval Latin Johannes, an alteration of Late Latin Joannes, from Greek Ioannes, from Hebrew Yohanan (longer form y'hohanan), said to mean literally 'Jehovah has favored' or 'Jah is gracious,' from hanan 'he was gracious.' Jack Ketch for 'hangman, executioner' (1670s) is said to be from the name of a public executioner in the time of James II (compare Derrick) it also was used as a verb meaning 'to hang.' Alliterative coupling of Jack and Jill is from 15c. The Scottish form is Jock (compare jockey (n.)). Jack the Ripper was active in London 1888. plant jack-in-the-pulpit (Indian turnip) is attested by 1833. Other personifications listed in Farmer & Henley include jack-snip 'a botching tailor,' Jack-in-office 'overbearing petty official' (1680s), Jack-on-both-sides 'a neutral,' Jack-out-of-doors 'a vagrant' (1630s), jack-sauce 'impudent fellow' (1590s). Jack-Spaniard is from 1703 as a Spaniard, 1833 as 'a hornet' in the West Indies. Jack-pudding 'comical clown, buffoon' is from 1640s. Jack Sprat for a small, light man is from 1560s (his opposite was Jack Weight). first record of jack-of-all-trades 'person handy at any kind of work or business' is from 1610s Jack Frost is from 1826 Jack-nasty 'a sneak or sloven' is from 1833 ( Jack-nasty-face, a sea-term for a common sailor, is from 1788).

In U.S., as a generic name addressed to an unknown stranger, attested from 1889. Later used especially of sailors (1650s Jack-tar is from 1781) Jack-ashore (adj.) 'drinking and in high spirits, recklessly spending' (1875) also is an image from sailors (1840 as a book title). In England, Jack became a generic name applied familiarly or contemptuously to anybody (especially a young man of the lower classes) from late 14c. In Middle English spelled Jakke, Jacke, etc., and pronounced as two syllables ('Jackie'). proper name, attested by 1218, probably via Anglo-French Jake, Jaikes, from Old French Jacques (which was a diminutive of Latin Jacobus see Jacob), but in English the name always has been regarded as a familiar form of John, and some have argued that it is a native formation.

Jack handy