Origin
The name Jack probably originated as a medieval diminutive of the name John, originally as "Jackin" (earlier Jankin). Alternatively it may be derived from the name Jacques, which is the French form of the name Jacob. There is also a theory that it is Celtic in origin, meaning "Healthy, Strong, Full of Vital Energy" (compare the Welsh word iach, "health"), from a putative Ancient British *Jakkios. Whatever its origin, the name and also the word "jack" were long used as a term to refer to any man, especially of the common classes.
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“For, though the origin of most of our words is forgotten, each word was at first a stroke of genius, and obtained currency, because for the moment it symbolized the world to the first speaker and to the hearer. The etymologist finds the deadest word to have been once a brilliant picture.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)