Although in this case it’s used a a surname, I immediately thought of Brian Jacques (1939-2011) who was the author of the children’s book series Redwall, about talking animals.
Very pleasant name, but people who aren't French are probably going to pronounce this name wrong. It's also very common in France - not that a common name is a bad thing, of course.
With 615 907 bearers, Jacques is the 17th most common masculine given name in France (2014 Data). With 44 482 bearers, Jacques is the 16th most common masculine given name in Haiti (2014 Data). With 6 014 bearers, Jacques is the 10th most common masculine given name in Mauritius (2014 Data). With 1 421 bearers, Jacques is the 13th most common masculine given name in Tahiti/French Polynesia (2014 Data). Source: https://forebears.io/forenames/jacques
This is a name I have always associated with kindness, strength, and intelligence. My late Grandpapa had this name. He was the wonderful man who raised my mother and uncle. Thick French accent, strong hugs, spoiled me silly (I was his only granddaughter), with a good raspy laugh. He passed away in 2016, but my memories still remain strong. Memories of sleepovers at his house and me telling him to stop calling the monkeys ugly when we went to the zoo. He was a good man, so I always associate this name with him.As for the name itself, it's an incredibly handsome name. Though English speakers may find it tricky at first (remember it's "Jock" not "Jocks"), it's still simple enough to work yet also uncommon enough to be unique to English speakers. And it has a lot of great nickname potential as well, such as "Jack". It's cool, it's attractive, it's memorable; it's a brilliant name.If I ever have a son one day, this is the name I will give him in honor of my Grandpapa.
My name is Jacques and I am French so I think I have the authority to offer my opinion on the pronunciation of the name. Think of the soft 'g' in mirage, and that's what the 'J' sounds like. Then the rest is pretty much pronounced 'ack', but instead of a 'k' it is the French 'que'. I have heard people pronounced the end as 'ock', however I believe that that is not the French way of saying it. Having people say Jack is incredibly annoying, so do not use a hard 'J'. Not sure what people are doing when they pronounce the end as 'kweese'...
I personally love this name. I once used it in a Les Miserables fan fiction. It reminds me of a cheeky teenage boy who is a flirt, steals food from people, but is a good guy deep down. And for the record, it’s pronounced ZHOCK.
Jacques Arnoux is a character from the French novel "Sentimental Education" by Gustave Flaubert (1869). He is a charming and reckless entrepreneur whose wife Marie, most often called "Mme Arnoux", falls in love with the young anti-hero, Frédéric Moreau.
Way too many letters for a one-syllable name. Other French names like Pierre, Blanche and Jeanne have the same problem..
― Anonymous User 8/20/2018
-5
To the user who said "Way too many letters for a one-syllable name. Other French names like Pierre, Blanche and Jeanne have the same problem.." I'm sorry, but this is just the way the French language is. "qu'est-ce que" is pronounced "kesker" and "oiseaux" is pronounced "wazo". It's not like the French people decided to add letters to English words, it's just the way the language developed. Have a nice day! Bonne journée!
― Anonymous User 1/1/2020
7
Jacques, Hereditary Prince of Monaco, Marquis of Baux, is the heir apparent to the Monegasque throne. He is the twin son of Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene.
Jacques Houdek is a Croatian singer and songwriter who will represent Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "My Friend". Houdek began his professional solo career in 2000 and has since published many recordings and albums out of which 13 have been certified silver, gold, platinum and diamond. Houdek is one of the mentors in the Croatian version of the TV talent show "The Voice". During the show's first season, he mentored winner Nina Kraljić. Aside from Croatian, he has sung and recorded in English, Italian, German, Spanish, French, Slovene, Macedonian, and Maori language.
Jacques Vergès (1925-2013) was a French lawyer of Vietnamese and French descent and opposer to French colonization. He defended Algerian militant Djamila Bouhired in court, later coming to marry her.
― Anonymous User 3/26/2017
1
Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin is a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early in his career, many of Higelin's songs were effectively blacklisted from French radio because of his controversial left wing political beliefs, and his association with socialist groups. He is also known as Higelin.
Jacques Dutronc is a French singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer, and actor. He has been married to singer Françoise Hardy since 30 March 1981 and the two have a son. He also has been a longtime songwriting collaborator with Jacques Lanzmann.
Jacques is the French version of my name that means "supplanter" or "God may protect". The English name "Jack" is derived from the name Jacob and not from John. The sound of the two names is pretty much the same and many translations around the world demonstrate this right link. I personally don't believe in the result of Jankin = Jackin = Jack but in my studies I saw that often is: Jacob = Jacques = Jack. All dictionaries of English show this etymology.
I ran into a little boy who had this name, but his grandmother couldn't pronounce it properly and called him Jack us. I thought she was saying Jackass at first. Poor kid.
The name Jacques got very popular in France in the 1930's, reaching its peak in the late 40's. After the 60's, its popularity began to decline. It ranked #508 in 2010, just barely missing the top 500 featured on this site.
I always thought it was the French form of jack too. This is a cool name, but only if you're French. I knew a dog named Jacques who was named that because his breed is from France ;)
― Anonymous User 2/18/2013
7
I have heard of a female person identified as Jacques whose name was pronounced "JA-kweez" by a TV news reporter.
In Balzac's La Comédie Humaine, Jacques Collin is the real name of the character also known as Vautrin or Carlos Herrera. He's a criminal mastermind and his role is similar to Goethe's Mephistopheles.
A famous bearer is Jacques Barzun (born November 30, 1907) an prominent French-born historian. He is known for his wide range of expertise, as well as numerous books he's written, edited, and translated across seven decades.
This name is interesting, but I once actually met a person who thought that it was pronounced jack-KWEEZ. Sometimes it's just so funny to see how non-francophones try to pronounce things.