Meaning, Origin And History Of The Name Jacob

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Jacob NamePopularityRelated NamesRelatedRatingsCommentsNamesakesName Days 73%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage English, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Jewish, Biblical Scripts יַעֲקֹב(Hebrew) Pronounced Pron. /ˈd͡ʒeɪ.kəb/(English) /ˈjaː.kɔp/(Dutch) /ˈjɑː.kɔp/(Swedish, Norwegian) YAH-kob(Danish) [key·simplify]

Meaning & History

From the Latin Iacob, which was from the Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿaqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Yaʿaqovʾel) meaning "may God protect".The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages [1], though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Related Names

Family Tree·Details VariantsJaycob(English) Jacobus, Jakob, Sjaak(Dutch) Jakob(Swedish) Jakob(Norwegian) Jakob(Danish) DiminutivesCoby, Jake, Jeb, Koby(English) Cobus, Coos, Jaap, Kobus, Koos(Dutch) Ib, Jeppe(Danish) Koppel, Yankel, Kapel(Yiddish) Feminine FormsJacoba, Coba, Jacobina, Jacobine(Dutch) Jacobine(Norwegian) Other Languages & CulturesYacoub, Yakub, Yaqoob, Yaqub(Arabic) Hagop, Hakob, Yakob(Armenian) Jakes(Basque) Yakau(Belarusian) Iakob, Iakobos(Biblical Greek) Ya'aqov(Biblical Hebrew) Iacob, Iacobus(Biblical Latin) Yakov(Bulgarian) Jaume, Jaumet(Catalan) Jago(Cornish) Jakov, Jakša(Croatian) Jakub, Jákob(Czech) Jaagup, Jaak, Jaakob(Estonian) Jákup(Faroese) Semisi(Fijian) Jaakko, Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaska, Jimi(Finnish) Jaak, Kobe(Flemish) Jacques, Jacky, Jacquy(French) Japik(Frisian) Iago, Xacobe, Xaime(Galician) Iakob, Koba(Georgian) Jakob, Jockel(German) Iakovos(Greek) Yaƙubu(Hausa) Iakopa, Kimo(Hawaiian) Yaakov, Yakov, Akiba, Akiva(Hebrew) Jakab, Jákob(Hungarian) Jakob(Icelandic) Séamus, Shamus, Sheamus, Séamas(Irish) Giacomo, Giacobbe, Iacopo, Jacopo, Lapo(Italian) Iacomus, Jacobus(Late Roman) Jēkabs(Latvian) Jaques(Literature) Jokūbas(Lithuanian) Jakov(Macedonian) Hemi(Maori) Jakub, Kuba(Polish) Iago, Jaime, Jacó(Portuguese) Yaqub(Quranic) Iacob(Romanian) Yakov, Yasha(Russian) Hamish, Jamie(Scottish) Seumas(Scottish Gaelic) Jakov, Jakša(Serbian) Jakub(Slovak) Jakob, Žak, Jaka, Jaša(Slovene) Jacobo, Jaime, Yago(Spanish) Semisi(Tongan) Yakup(Turkish) Yakiv(Ukrainian) Yaqoob(Urdu) Iago(Welsh) Yacouba(Western African) Surname DescendantsJacobsen(Danish) Jacobs, Jacobse(Dutch) Jacobs, Jacobson(English) User SubmissionsJâcob, Jacòb

Popularity

US Animations·Details Last ranked #34 in 2024 Australia (NSW) Last ranked #847 in 1950 Brazil (by decade) Last ranked #17 in 2023 Canada Last ranked #181 in 2015 Czechia Last ranked #36 in 2014 Denmark Last ranked #30 in 2024 England & Wales Last ranked #358 in 2024 France Last ranked #64 in 2024 Ireland Last ranked #166 in 2025 Netherlands Last ranked #83 in 2025 New Zealand Last ranked #23 in 2023 Northern Ireland Last ranked #58 in 2025 Norway Last ranked #3 in 2023 Philippines Last ranked #191 in 2018 Poland Last ranked #33 in 2024 Puerto Rico Last ranked #7 in 2023 Quebec, Canada Last ranked #27 in 2024 Scotland Last ranked #396 in 2010 Spain (by decade) Last ranked #95 in 2019 Sweden Last ranked #41 in 2024 United States

People think this name is

Rate·Details natural wholesome strong refined

Name Days

Name Days? Denmark: May 1France: December 20

Images

Jacob Wrestling with the Angel (1659), by Rembrandt

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