Jack

Jack was, until 2011 when he was unseated by Oliver, for years the Number 1 name in England and is firmly in the Top 50 here, having returned to the Top 100 in 1996. Jack is a durable, cheery everyman form of John, and has been chosen for their sons by dozens of celebs, such as Matt Lauer, Luke Perry, Meg Ryan and Kirk Cameron.

How did John get to Jack? It went from John to Johnkin to Jankin to Jackin to Jack.

Familiar to all from earliest childhood via Jack and Jill, Jack Sprat, Jack and the Beanstalk and Little Jack Horner et al, the name was so common in the Middle Ages that Jack became a generic term for a man.

Jack is still a favorite for novel, TV and movie characters, including "24" 's Jack Bauer, "Lost" 's Jack Shepard and "30 Rock" 's Jack Donaghy. Dads especially seem to like Jack.

Internationally, in addition to Britain, Jack has been a top name in Scotland, Northern Ireland, Australia and New Zealand for well over a decade.

The jaunty Scottish version is Jock.