Jake

Jake began life as a medieval nickname for Jacob, from the Hebrew Ya'akov, supplanter or one who follows. For centuries it was rural, a farmhand's name, until the 1970s and 80s pulled it upward, and by the 90s Jake was a full-blown American blockbuster, consistently in the top 30. The name has mellowed since, now near 422, which is arguably its best moment: familiar but no longer saturated. Single syllable, long A, decisive K. It suggests a guy with a truck, a guitar, and a sense of humor. Short, warm, unpretentious, the way Jake has always sounded.