Jacques
A French surname ultimately from the given name Jacques, the French form of James, often introduced into England by French speakers and later Anglicized in spelling and sound.
The #2,512 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 21,415 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jacques is the French form of the personal name James, ultimately from Latin Iacobus and Hebrew Ya‘aqov (Jacob). As a surname, it began as a patronymic or byname meaning, in effect, “son of Jacques” or “descendant of Jacques.” The name could enter English records through French or Norman influence, which helps explain its presence in medieval and later British sources.
History
The surname appears in English records in forms associated with French-speaking settlers and families, and later turns up among bearers in Britain and North America. Historical surname writers also treated related forms such as Jack, Jakes, and Jackaway as part of the same broader naming family, though those forms do not all have the same exact origin. In modern usage, Jacques remains common in French-speaking areas and in diaspora communities.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname writer explicitly glossed Jacques as simply the French personal name behind the surname, while another linked it to the widespread Christian given-name family descending from James.
From the historical record
“p.n. FI. Prot. ref., Lond. 1618 jACQUES. See Jack affray. See Geoffry aggard. Fr. Jacquard; G. Jagode; Dch. Jagt, Jacot ; p.n. (hunt ward) aggers, Jaggs. See Jaggard akes. See Jacques akyll. See Jekyll alman. A. Hjelman ; a p.n. See Helmer ames. From St James, Norm.”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)