There are far too many famous Jacks to count — including (but not limited to) Lemmon, Nicholson, Benny, and even the fictional Jack Bauer from TV’s 24. But what about “jumping jack,” as in the calisthenic exercise? Does this name refer to a real Jack, or does the credit lie elsewhere? Let’s jump into figuring out the phrase’s true etymological history.
According to Merriam-Webster, the earliest use of “jumping jack” dates back to 1883, long before the exercise was invented. At that time, it referred to “a toy figure of a man jointed and made to jump or dance by means of strings.” These wooden toys were quite popular in parts of England, France (where they were known as pantins), and Germany (where they were called Hamplemann) in the 17th through 19th centuries. Similar puppets have been found in Brazil, North America (from the Hopi people), and in Africa (in the form of Yoruba carved masks). In England, the name “Jack” was likely given to this toy because it was a common way to refer to any male figurine at the time — similar to how we’d refer to any random man as an “average Joe” today.
This dancing puppet toy’s name and movement appears to be the likely inspiration for the actual physical exercise. “Performed from a standing position by jumping to a position with legs spread and arms raised and then to the original position,” the exercise was popularized, at least in part, by General John J. Pershing (nicknamed “Black Jack”). While working as an instructor at West Point from 1897 to 1898, Pershing taught the exercise as a conditioning technique. He likely called this movement “jumping jack” because it closely resembled the toy’s movement (and possibly because of the connection to his nickname), but we cannot know if he invented the name and exercise, or if he was taught by someone else.
A misattribution has to do with fitness guru Jack LaLanne, who did help to popularize jumping jacks on his nationally syndicated exercise TV show. But given that show ran from 1951 to 1984, it postdates both the toy and the Pershing story.
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