UK boy's name
Jacek
Diminutive form of the Polish name Jakub, meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2022. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Jacek is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Jacek popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2022 in this profile. In that release it ranked #4001, with 4 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2008, with 13 births.
This profile covers 101 England and Wales registrations across 14 recorded years from 1997 to 2022. The figures come from ONS England and Wales and NRS Scotland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 31% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 104 living people in the UK are called Jacek. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2023 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Jacek ranked #4001 for boys in England and Wales in 2022, with 4 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2008, when 13 boys were registered as Jacek.
- • Jacek ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #544 in 2011.
- • About 104 living people in the UK are estimated to have Jacek as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#4001
2022
Births in 2022
4
Latest year
Peak year
2008
13 births
Estimated living
104
2026
Meaning
What does Jacek mean?
Jacek is a masculine given name of Polish origin. It is derived from the Hebrew name Jacob, which means "supplanter" or "holder of the heel". The name Jacob is found in the Old Testament of the Bible and is borne by one of the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis.
The Polish form Jacek emerged in the Middle Ages, likely influenced by the Latin form Jacobus. The name became popular in Poland due to the veneration of St. James the Apostle, whose Polish name is Jakub, a variant of Jacek.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jacek dates back to the 13th century. Jacek Odrowąż, also known as Hyacinth of Poland, was a Polish Dominican friar and priest who lived from around 1185 to 1257. He is revered as a saint in the Catholic Church.
In the 14th century, Jacek of Żnin was a Polish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of trigonometry and the calculation of planetary movements.
During the Renaissance period, Jacek Grochowski (1554-1609) was a Polish poet and writer who is considered one of the most important representatives of the Polish Renaissance literature.
Another notable figure was Jacek Kuroń (1934-2004), a Polish opposition activist and politician who played a significant role in the democratic movement that led to the fall of communism in Poland.
Jacek Fedorowicz (1947-2009) was a Polish film director and screenwriter, best known for his critically acclaimed movie "The Bodyguard" (1966), which won several awards at international film festivals.
Throughout history, the name Jacek has been associated with various professions, including religion, science, literature, and politics, reflecting the diverse backgrounds of those who have borne this name.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Jacek over time
The chart below shows babies named Jacek registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 to 2022. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Jacek, the clearest high point is 2008. The latest England and Wales figure is 4 births in 2022, compared with 13 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacek by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Jacek was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #4001 | 4 | 1 |
| 2010s | #2638 | 61 | 8 |
| 2000s | #2484 | 33 | 4 |
| 1990s | #2859 | 3 | 1 |
Geography
Where Jacek is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Jacek. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Jacek ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #544 in 2011.
Across the UK
Jacek in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#544 in 2011
1 years of NRS records, 4 total registered
Related
Names similar to Jacek
- Jack 188,738
- Joshua 145,192
- James 141,878
- Joseph 102,259
- Jacob 93,754
- Jake 66,896
- Jamie 41,243
- Jordan 36,750
- Jayden 28,921
- Jude 24,156
- John 22,240
- Joe 19,164
FAQ
Jacek: questions and answers
How popular is the name Jacek in the UK right now?
In 2022, Jacek was ranked #4001 for boys in England and Wales, with 4 births registered.
When was Jacek most popular?
The peak year on record was 2008, with 13 babies registered as Jacek in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Jacek?
Diminutive form of the Polish name Jakub, meaning "supplanter" or "holder of the heel".
How many people are called Jacek in the UK?
A total of 101 babies have been registered as Jacek across the 14 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4 more in Scotland.
Where is Jacek most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Jacek ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #544 in 2011. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.