How did the flag the Union Jack get it's name?

Question

I know that this is not a royalty question but I am uncertain as to where to ask it

Answer 1

it is only called a union jack when it is flown on a jack pole of a ship otherwise its the union flag and more than likely when james I came to the throne

Answer 2

It's the Union Flag.

It's the Union Jack if it's flown from a ship's jack-flag pole.

Try and remember it won't you, it annoys me when people are so clueless about their own nation.

Answer 3

As Jamie B says, its proper name is the Union Flag, unless it is actually being flown from the jackstaff at the bows of a ship. It's called "Union" because it represents the union of the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland - it incorporates the flag of St George for England (red cross on white), the flag of St Andrew for Scotland (white saltire on blue) and the flag of St Patrick for Ireland (red saltire on white).

The Union Flag has existed in its present state since 1801 when the Kingdom of Ireland was united with the Kingdom of Great Britain. Before that, the Union Flag consisted of the crosses of St George and St Andrew only.

Answer 4

The issue of whether to use the term "Union Flag" or "Union Jack" is a matter of some debate. One view is that "Union Jack" should only be used for the flag when it is flown as a jack (a small flag flown at the bow of a ship), but it is not universally accepted that the "Jack" of "Union Jack" is a reference to such a jack flag and is only an educated guess. Since "Union Jack" is a proper noun, the term is equally correct when the flag is flown on land.

The Flag Institute, the vexillological organisation for the United Kingdom, stated that the term Union Flag is a "relatively recent idea". It also noted that "From early in its life the Admiralty itself frequently referred to the flag as the Union Jack, whatever its use, and in 1902 an Admiralty Circular announced that Their Lordships had decided that either name could be used officially. Such use was given Parliamentary approval in 1908 when it was stated that "the Union Jack should be regarded as the National flag".

When the flag was initially introduced, in 1606, it was known simply as "the British flag" or "the flag of Britain". The first use of the name "Union" appeared in 1625. The word 'jack' was in use before 1600 to describe the maritime bow flag. By 1627 a small Union Jack was commonly flown in this position. One theory goes that for some years it would have been called just "the Jack", or "Jack flag", or "the King's Jack", but by 1674, while formally referred to as "His Majesty's Jack", it was commonly called the Union Jack, and this was officially acknowledged.

The 'Jack' part of the name may also have come from the name of King James I / James VI of Scotland, who inherited the English crown, uniting the two kingdoms. Jac is from Jacobus, Latin for James. King James was fond of attaching his name to items of national importance. Other examples include the King James Bible, commissioned in 1603, and Jamestown - the first English speaking settlement made in North America under King James' rule (1607).

The size and power of the Royal Navy internationally at the time could also explain why the flag was named the "Union Jack"; considering the navy was so widely utilised and renowned by the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, it is possible that the term "Jack" did occur due to its regular use on all British ships using the "Jack Staff" (a flag pole attached to the bow of a ship). Even if the term "Union Jack" does derive from the jack flag (as perhaps seems most likely), after three centuries, it is now sanctioned by use, has appeared in official use, and remains the popular term.

Answer 5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Jack

Answer 6

The term Union Flag refers to the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also known as the Union Jack. The issue of whether to use the term "Union Flag" or "Union Jack" is a matter of some debate. One view is that "Union Jack" should only be used for the flag when it is flown as a jack (a small flag flown at the bow of a ship), but it is not universally accepted that the "Jack" of "Union Jack" is a reference to such a jack flag and is only an educated guess. Since "Union Jack" is a proper noun, the term is equally correct when the flag is flown on land.