Jacob is a common male

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

and a less well-known

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. It is a

cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words in different languages that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymology, etymological ancestor in a proto-language, common parent language. Because language c ...

of James, derived from Late Latin ''Iacobus'', from Greek ''Iakobos'', from Hebrew (''Yaʿaqōḇ''), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and

Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

. The name comes either from the Hebrew root ''ʿqb'' meaning "to follow, to be behind" but also "to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach", or from the word for "heel", ''ʿaqeb''. It can also be taken to mean "may God protect." In the narrative of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book o ...

, it refers to the circumstances of Jacob's birth when he held on to the heel of his older twin brother Esau (Genesis 25:26). The name is etymologized (in a direct speech by the character Esau) in Genesis 27:36, adding the significance of Jacob having "supplanted" his elder brother by buying his birthright. In a Christian context, Jacob – ''James'' in English form – is the name for several people in the New Testament: (1) the apostle James, son of Zebedee, (2) another apostle, James, son of Alphaeus, and (3)

James the brother of Jesus James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early lead ...

(James the Just), who led the original Nazarene Community in Jerusalem. There are several Jacobs in the genealogy of Jesus.

Modern usage

From 1999 through 2012, Jacob was the most popular baby name for boys in the United States.U.S. Social Security Administration – Popular Baby Names
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Variants

* Afrikaans – Jakob, Jakobus, Jacobus *

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

– Jakob, Jakov, Jakub, Jakup, Gjokë, Gjoka, Zhak * Arabic – Yaʿqūb, Yakub (يعقوب); see also Jacob in Islam * Aragonese – Chacobo, Chaime * Armenian – Յակոբ (classical Armenian and Western Armenian), Հակոբ (

Eastern Armenian Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...

) (Hakob, Hagop) *

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

– Yaqub, Yaqubun, Ceykob * Basque – Jakobi, Jagoba *

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

– Якуб, Якаў (Jakub, Jakaŭ) * Bengali – জ্যাকব (Jyākob), ইয়াকুব (Iyakub) * Bosnian – Jakub (Jakup) * Breton – Jakob, Jakez * Bulgarian – Яков (Yakov) * Catalan – Jaume, Dídac * Cebuano – Hakob *

Chichewa Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for la ...

– Yakobo * Chinese – 雅各 (Yǎgè) * Cornish – Jago, Jammes, Jamma * Corsican – Ghjacumu * Croatian – Jakov, Jakob, Jakša * Czech – Jakub * Danish – Jakob, Jep, Jeppe, Ib * Dutch – Jaak, Jaap, Jakob, Jacobus, Jacco, Jaco, Sjaak, Kobus * English – Jack, Jake, Jakob, Jaycob; see also James *

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

– Jakobo *

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

– Jaak, Jaagup, Jakob * Ethiopia – Yacob, Yacob, Yakob * Faroese –

Jákup Jákup is a Faroese masculine given name, a cognate of the names Jacob and James. People with the name Jákup include: *Jákup á Borg (born 1979), Faroese footballer *Jákup Dahl (1878-1944), Faroese Provost and Bible translator *Jákup Pauli G ...

* Fijian – Jekope, Kope * Finnish – Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko *

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

– Jacques, Jayme, Jaume, Jacqueline (fem.) * Frisian – Japik * Galician – Xacobe, Santiago, Iago, Xaime * Georgian – იაკობ (Iakob), კობა (Koba) * German – Jakob * Greek – Iákovos (Ιάκωβος), Iakóv (Ιακώβ), Yángos (Γιάγκος) * Gujarati – જેકબ (Jēkaba) *

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; ht, kreyòl ayisyen, links=no, ; french: créole haïtien, links=no, ), commonly referred to as simply ''Creole'', or ''Kreyòl'' in the Creole language, is a French-based creole language spoken by 10–12million people wor ...

– Jakòb * Hausa – Yakubu * Hawaiian – Iakopo * Hebrew –Ya'akov (יעקב), Koby, Ya'akova (female) * Hindi – याकूब (Yākūba) * Hmong – Yakhauj * Hungarian – Jakab, Jákob * Icelandic – Jakob * Igbo – Jekọb * Indonesian – Yakobus (used mainly by Christians), Yakub (used mainly by Muslims) * Irish – Séamas, Séamus, Sésamo, Sesame, Shéamais, Iacób, Siacus * Italian – Giacomo, Iacopo, Jacopo, Giacobbe * Japanese – Yakobu (ヤコブ) * Javanese – Yakub * Kannada – ಜಾಕೋಬ್ (Jākōb) *

Kazakh Kazakh, Qazaq or Kazakhstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kazakhstan *Kazakhs, an ethnic group *Kazakh language *The Kazakh Khanate * Kazakh cuisine * Qazakh Rayon, Azerbaijan *Qazax, Azerbaijan *Kazakh Uyezd, administrative dis ...

– Жақып (Zhaqyp, Zhakip) * Khmer – លោកយ៉ាកុប (lok yeakob) * Korean – Yagop (야곱) *

Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan *Kyrgyz people *Kyrgyz national games *Kyrgyz language *Kyrgyz culture *Kyrgyz cuisine *Yenisei Kirghiz *The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China ...

– Жакып (Dzhakyp) * Lao – ຢາໂຄບ (ya okhb) * Latin – Iacobus * Latvian –

Jēkabs Jēkabs is a Latvian masculine given name; it translates in English Jacob and James and may refer to: * Jēkabs Alksnis (1897–1938), Latvian Soviet commander of Red Army Air Forces from 1931–1937 * Jēkabs Bīne (1895-1955), Latvian painter, ...

Lithuanian Lithuanian may refer to: * Lithuanians * Lithuanian language * The country of Lithuania * Grand Duchy of Lithuania * Culture of Lithuania * Lithuanian cuisine * Lithuanian Jews as often called "Lithuanians" (''Lita'im'' or ''Litvaks'') by other Jew ...

– Jokūbas *

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

– Јаков * Malayalam – ചാക്കോ (Chacko), യാക്കോബ് (Yakob) *

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Malte ...

– Ġakbu, Ġakobb * Māori – Hakopa *

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

– याकोब (Yākōba) * Malay – Akob, Yakub, Yaakub * Mongolian – Иаков (Iakov) * Montenegrin – Jakov, Jakša *

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

– yarkote sai *

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

– याकूबले (Yākūbalē) * Norwegian – Jakob *

Pampangan The Kapampangan people ( pam, Taung Kapampangan), Pampangueños or Pampangos, are the sixth largest ethnolinguistic group in the Philippines, numbering about 2,784,526 in 2010. They live mainly in the provinces of Pampanga, Bataan and Tarlac, as ...

– Hakub * Persian – Yaghub (یعقوب) * Polish – Jakub, Kuba, Jakubina and Żaklina * Portuguese – Jacó, Iago, Tiago, Thiago, Diogo, Jácomo, Jaime *

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

– ਯਾਕੂਬ ਨੇ (Yākūba nē) * Romanian – Iacob, Iacov * Romansh: Giacun, Giachen * Russian – Иаков (Iakov) (archaic O.T. form), Яков (Yakov, Iakov), Яша (Yasha, Jascha) (diminutive) * Samoan – Iakopo *

Scots Scots usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: * Scots language, a language of the West Germanic language family native to Scotland * Scots people, a nation and ethnic group native to Scotland * Scoti, a Latin na ...

– Hamish * Scottish Gaelic – Seumas *

Serbian Serbian may refer to: * someone or something related to Serbia, a country in Southeastern Europe * someone or something related to the Serbs, a South Slavic people * Serbian language * Serbian names See also

* * * Old Serbian (disambiguat ...

– Jakov (Јаков), Jakša (Јакша) * Sesotho – Jakobo * Sinhala – ජාකොබ් (Jakob), යාකොබ් (Yakob) * Slovak – Jakub (short form: Kubo) * Slovenian – Jakob a:kop Jaka * Somali – Yacquub * Sorbian – Jakub * Spanish – Jacobo, Jaime, Yago, Diego, Santiago, Iago, Tiago *

Swahili Swahili may refer to: * Swahili language, a Bantu language official in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda and widely spoken in the African Great Lakes * Swahili people, an ethnic group in East Africa * Swahili culture Swahili culture is the culture of ...

– Yakobo *

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

– Jakob * Sylheti – য়াকুব (Yakub) * Syriac – ܝܥܩܘܒ (Yaʿqub), also (Yaqo, Yaqko) *

Tagalog Tagalog may refer to: Language * Tagalog language, a language spoken in the Philippines ** Old Tagalog, an archaic form of the language ** Batangas Tagalog, a dialect of the language * Tagalog script, the writing system historically used for Tagal ...

– Hakob *

Tajik Tajik, Tadjik, Tadzhik or Tajikistani may refer to: * Someone or something related to Tajikistan * Tajiks, an ethnic group in Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Uzbekistan * Tajik language, the official language of Tajikistan * Tajik (surname) * Tajik cu ...

– Яъқуб (Ja'quʙ) * Tamil – யாக்கோபு (Yākkōpu) *

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

– యాకోబు (Yākôbu) * Thai – เจคอบ Ce khxb, pronounced "Ja-khawb" * Tigrinya – ያእቆብ, ያዕቆብ (Ya‘ik’obi) *

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

–

Yakup Yakup is a Turkish given name for males and is a cognate of Jacob and James. People named Yakup include: * Yakup Ağa (fl. 1462), Ottoman cavalry knight * Yakup Bugun (born 1987), Turkish footballer * Yakup Gör (born 1988), Turkish sport wrestle ...

* Ukrainian – Yakiv (Яків) * Urdu – یعقوب (Ya'kub) * Uzbek – Yoqub, Yakob, Ya'qub * Vietnamese – Giacôbê, Giacóp *

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

– Siam, Jac, Iago * Xitsonga – Yakobo *

Yiddish Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...

– Yankev, Yankl, Yankel, Yankele *

Yoruba The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba consti ...

– Jakọbù * Zulu – Jakobe

People with the name

Patriarch Jacob of Alexandria Jacob ( el, Ιάκωβος) served as Greek Patriarch of Alexandria between 1861 and 1865. References * 19th-century Greek Patriarchs of Alexandria People from Patmos 1803 births 1865 deaths {{EasternOrthodoxy-bishop-stub ...

(1803–1865), Greek Patriarch of Alexandria 1861–1865 * Saint Jakov, Archbishop of Serbs 1286–1292 * Saint Jacob of Alaska, missionary of the Orthodox Church * Saint Jacob of Nisibis, Bishop of Nisibis * Jacob (Book of Mormon prophet) * *

References

{{Reflist Given names Masculine given names Hebrew masculine given names English masculine given names Irish masculine given names Scottish masculine given names Welsh masculine given names German masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Danish masculine given names Modern names of Hebrew origin