James is an English language

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 ...

of Hebrew origin, most commonly used for males.

Etymology

It is a modern descendant, through Old French ''James'', of

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal Register (sociolinguistics), registers of Latin spoken from the Crisis of the Roman Republic, Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve ...

''Iacomus'' (cf. Italian '' Giacomo'', Portuguese ''Tiago'', Spanish '' Iago, Santiago''), a derivative version of Latin ''Iacobus'', Latin form of the Hebrew name ''Jacob'' (original Hebrew: יעקב). The final ''-s'' in the English first names is typical of those borrowed from Old French, where it was the former masculine

subject case In grammar, the nominative case (abbreviated ), subjective case, straight case or upright case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or (in Latin and formal variants of Engl ...

(cf. Giles,

Miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, etc.). James is a very popular name in English-speaking populations. Since in Spanish and its derivatives the J is pronounced (Kh), many Jews used this name for representing the Hebrew name of Haim, also written as Chaim (pronounced ) or its similar forms in Spanish and English like Jaime, Jamie or Jim, even though the origins of the two names (Haim and Jacob) are very different.

Forms of James

Abbreviations

* Jas (English)

Diminutives

* Jack * Jay * Jaime or Jamie * Jim or Jimmy/ Jimy/ Jimmi/

Jimi Jimi may refer to: * Jimi language (Cameroon) * Jimi language (Nigeria) * Jimi languages * Jimi system, the administration system of ancient China * Jimi River, in Papua New Guinea * Jimi Valley, in Papua New Guinea * Jimi District, in Papua New G ...

/ Jimmie * Jimbo

Variants in English and various other languages

* Afrikaans: Jakobus, Koos (diminutive), Kobus (diminutive), Jakko (diminutive) *

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 ...

: Jakup, Jakub, Jakob or Jakov * Alemannic: Köbi, Chöbi, Jockel, Jakobli (diminutive), Jockeli (diminutive), Joggi *

Amharic Amharic ( or ; (Amharic: ), ', ) is an Ethiopian Semitic language, which is a subgrouping within the Semitic branch of the Afroasiatic languages. It is spoken as a first language by the Amharas, and also serves as a lingua franca for all oth ...

: ያዕቆብ (Ya‘əqob) * Arabic: يعقوب ( Yaʻqub) * Aragonese – Chaime, Chacobo * Armenian: Յակոբ in classical orthography and Հակոբ in reformed orthography ( Western: Hagop, Eastern: Hakob) * Asturian: Diegu, Xacobu, Xaime *

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 * Basque: Jakue, Jakob, Jakobe, Jagoba, Jaime, Jakes; Jakoba, Jagobe (feminized); Jago (diminutive) * Bavarian: Jackl, Jock, Jocke, Jockei *

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 ...

: Jakub, Якуб (Yakub), Jakaŭ, Якаў (Yakaw) * Bengali: জেমস (Jēms/Jēmsh), ইয়াকুব (Iyakub) *

Biblical Hebrew Biblical Hebrew (, or , ), also called Classical Hebrew, is an archaic form of the Hebrew language, a language in the Canaanite branch of Semitic languages spoken by the Israelites in the area known as the Land of Israel, roughly west of ...

: Yaakov (יעקב) * Bosnian: Jakub * Breton: Jagu, Jagut, Jacut, Jak, Jakes, Jakez, Jakezig, Jakou, Jalm, Chalm * Bulgarian: Яков (Yakov) * Cantonese 占士 (Jeem-see) * Catalan: Jaume, Xaume, Jacme, Jacob, Dídac, Santiago * Cherokee (Tsalagi): ᏥᎻ (Tsi-mi) * Chinese: 詹姆斯 (Zhānmǔsī), 詹姆士 (Zhānmǔshì) * Cornish: Jago, Jammes, Jamma, Jamys *

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

: Jakov, Jakob, Jakša * Czech: Jakub, Jakoubek (diminutive), Kuba (diminutive), Kubík (diminutive), Kubíček (diminutive), Kubas (informal, uncommon), Kubi (informal), Kubsik (informal, uncommon) * Danish: Ib, Jacob, Jakob, Jeppe, Jim, Jimmy * Dutch: Jacob, Jacobus, Jakob, Jaco, Jacco, Cobus, Coos, Jaap, Kobe, Kobus, Koos, Sjaak, Sjakie * English: ** Jack ** Jacob ** Jakob (uncommon, by way of German, Yiddish, etc.) ** Jacoby (rare, chiefly American, and originally a surname) ** Jake, Jakey (diminutive) ** Coby/Koby (diminutive, uncommon, chiefly American) ** Jamie (diminutive, found in all primarily English-speaking lands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, United States, etc.) ** Jaime/Jaimie (diminutive, uncommon, chiefly American, and by way of Spanish) ** Jim ** Jambo ** Jay ** James ** Jem (diminutive, also taken as a diminutive for Jeremiah, Jeremy or Jemma) ** Jacqueline/Jaqueline (feminized, by way of French) ** Jacqui/Jaqui (feminized diminutive), Jackie (feminized diminutive, chiefly American), Jacki (feminized diminutive) ** Jamie/Jamey/Jami (feminized) ** Jamesina, Jamesa (feminine form) *

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

...

: Jakob, Jaakob, Jaagup, Jaak * 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 ...

, Jakku (only in double names such as Jóan Jakku, Hans Jakku. Previously spelled Jacob/Jakob) * Filipino: Jaime, Jacób, Santiago (religious usage) * Finnish: Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko, Jaska, Jimi, Jouppi (archaic, nowadays only as a surname), Kauppi (archaic, nowadays only as a surname) *

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, Jacqueline (feminized), James, Jammes, Jacob, Jacquot (diminutive), Jacot (diminutive), Jacotte (feminized), Jaco (diminutive), Jack (diminutive), Jacky (diminutive), Jacq (diminutive), Jacquy (diminutive) * Frisian: Japik * Friulian: Jacum * Galician: Xaime, Iago, Diego, Xacobe, Xácome * Georgian: იაკობ (Iakob), კობა (Koba) * German: Jakob, Jakobus, Jeckel (diminutive), Jäckel (diminutive), Köbes (diminutive), Köbi (

Swiss German Swiss German (Standard German: , gsw, Schwiizerdütsch, Schwyzerdütsch, Schwiizertüütsch, Schwizertitsch Mundart,Because of the many different dialects, and because there is no defined orthography for any of them, many different spelling ...

diminutive) * Greek: ** Ιακώβ (Iakov, in the Septuagint) ** Ιάκωβος (Iakovos, New Testament) ** Γιακουμής (Yakoumis, colloquial, possibly also from Ιωακείμ (Joachim)) ** Ιακωβίνα (Iakovina, feminized) ** Γιάγκος (Yangos, probably through Slavic languages ** Ζάκης or Ζακ (Zakis or Zak, French-sounding) * Hawaiian: Kimo, Iakobo, Iakopo * Hebrew: Jacob and James are two separate, yet related names. ** Jacob is יעקב (Ya'aqov or Yakov), with its diminutives: *** קובי (Kobi) *** ג'קי (Jecky : from Jacky) *** ז'אק (Zhack from French pronunciation of Jacques) *** יקי (Yaki) *** יענקל'ה/ינקי (Yankalleh/Yankee - through

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 ...

). ** James is גֵ'יימס/גִ'ימי/גִ'ים/ (James/Jimmy/Jim from English). ** The Spanish name Jaime for James is pronounced in Spanish like the Israeli pronunciation of חיים (Haim or Chaim pronounced Kha-yim and meaning life). Diminutives of Chaim are: *** חיימי Chayimee (from Yiddish or Spanish Jaime) *** חיק'ל/חיימקה (Chaikel/Chayimke from Yiddish) * Hindi: जेम्स (Jēmsa) * Hungarian: Jakab, Jákob * Icelandic: Jakob * Igbo Jems, James, Jekọb *

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesia ...

: Yakobus, Yakubus * Irish: Séamas/ Seumas/ Séamus, Shéamais ( vocative, whence

Anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

: Hamish), Seamus ( anglicized), Shamus ( anglicized), Séimí (diminutive), Séimín (diminutive), Séamuisín (diminutive), Iacób * Italian: Giacomo, Iacopo or Jacopo, Giacobbe, Giacomino, Giaco, Giamo, Mino * Japanese: ジェームス (Jēmusu) * Jerriais: Jimce * Kannada: ಜೇಮ್ಸ್ (Jēms) *

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 (Zhaqip, Jacob), Якуб (Yakub, Yacoob) * Kikuyu: Jemuthi, Jemethi, Jimmi, Jakubu (Pronounced "Jakufu") * Korean: 제임스 (Jeimseu), 야고보 (Yakobo) *

Late Roman Late may refer to: * LATE, an acronym which could stand for: ** Limbic-predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy, a proposed form of dementia ** Local-authority trading enterprise, a New Zealand business law ** Local average treatment effect, ...

: Iacomus * Latin: Iacobus, Iacomus (vulgarized), Didacus (later Latin) * 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, ...

, Jākubs, Jakobs *

Limburgish Limburgish ( li, Limburgs or ; nl, Limburgs ; german: Limburgisch ; french: Limbourgeois ), also called Limburgan, Limburgian, or Limburgic, is a West Germanic language spoken in the Dutch and Belgian provinces of Limburg (Netherlands), L ...

: Jakob, Sjaak, Sjak, Keube *

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 * Lombard: Giacom, Giacum, Jacom *

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

: Jak, Jakob, Kööb, Köpke * Luxembourgish: Jakob, Jak, Jeek, Jeki *

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 (Yakov) * Malay: يعقوب ( Ya'qub), Ya'kub, Yakub * Malayalam: Chacko, Jacob, Yakkob (pronounced Yah-kohb) *

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, Ġakmu, Jakbu *

Manx Manx (; formerly sometimes spelled Manks) is an adjective (and derived noun) describing things or people related to the Isle of Man: * Manx people **Manx surnames * Isle of Man It may also refer to: Languages * Manx language, also known as Manx ...

: Jamys * Māori: Hemi * Northern Sami: Jáhkot * Norwegian: Jakob, Jakop, Jeppe * Occitan: Jacme (pronounced Jamme), Jaume, Jammes (surname, pronounced Jamme), James (surname, pronounced Jamme) * Persian: یعقوب( Yaʻqub) * Piedmontese: Giaco, Jaco (Montferrat dialect); diminutive: Giacolin, Giacolèt, Jacolin * Polish: Jakub, Kuba (diminutive), Kubuś (diminutive endearing) * Portuguese: Jacó ( O.T. form), Jacob, Jaime, Iago, Tiago (contracted form used in the N.T.), Thiago and Thyago (variant used in Brazil), Diogo, Diego, Santiago, Jaqueline (fem.) *

Provençal Provençal may refer to: *Of Provence, a region of France * Provençal dialect, a dialect of the Occitan language, spoken in the southeast of France *''Provençal'', meaning the whole Occitan language *Franco-Provençal language, a distinct Roman ...

: Jacme *

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 ...

: ਜੇਮਸ (Jēmasa) * Romanian: Iacob, Iacov * Romansh: Giachen, Giacun * Russian: Иаков (Iakov) (archaic O.T. form), Яков (Yakov, Iakov), Яша (Yasha) (diminutive) * Samoan: Iakopo, Semisi, Simi (Jim) * Sardinian: Giagu (Logudorese), Iacu (Nuorese) *

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 ...

: Jeams, Jeames, Jamie, Jizer, Jamesie * Scottish Gaelic: Seumas, Sheumais (vocative), Hamish (anglicized) *

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 ...

(Cyrillic/Latinic): Јаков/Jakov (Yakov); Јакша/Jakša (Yaksha); Јаша/Jaša (Yasha) (diminutive) * Sicilian: Giacumu, Jàcumu * Sinhala: දියෝගු (Diogu), ජාකොබ් (Jakob), සන්තියාගො (Santhiyago), යාකොබ් (Yakob) * Slovak: Jakub, Kubo, Kubko (diminutive), Jakubko (diminutive) * Slovene: Jakob, Jaka *

Somali Somali may refer to: Horn of Africa * Somalis, an inhabitant or ethnicity associated with Greater Somali Region ** Proto-Somali, the ancestors of modern Somalis ** Somali culture ** Somali cuisine ** Somali language, a Cushitic language ** Soma ...

: Yacquub * Spanish: Jaime, Jacobo, Yago, Tiago, Santiago, Diego, Jacoba (fem.), Jacob *

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: ܝܰܥܩܽܘܒ (Yaqub) * Tamil: ஜேம்ஸ் (Jēms) *

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) జేమ్స్ (Jēms) * th, เจมส์ (Jame, Cems̄̒) *

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, Yakub * Ukrainian: Яків (Yakiv) * Urdu: جیمز (James), یعقوب (Yaqoob) *

Venetian Venetian often means from or related to: * Venice, a city in Italy * Veneto, a region of Italy * Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area Venetian and the like may also refer to: * Venetian language, a Romance language s ...

: Jàcomo, Jàco * Walloon: Djåke *

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 ...

: Iago, Siâms *

: יעקב (Yankev/Yankiff), קאפעל/קופפל (Kappel/Koppel), יענקל/יענקלה (Yankel/Yankelleh), יענקי (Yankee), יאקאב (Yakab - from Romanian Iacob), and the Gentile name not associated with Jacob: דזשעיימס (James) *

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 ...

Jákó̩bù, Jakobu * Zulu: Jakobe

Popularity

James is one of the most common male names in the English-speaking world. In the United States, James was one of the five most common given names for male babies for most of the 20th century. Its popularity peaked during the

Baby Boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of birth rate. This demographic phenomenon is usually ascribed within certain geographical bounds of defined national and cultural populations. People born during these periods are often ca ...

(Census records 1940–1960), when it was the most popular name for baby boys. Its popularity has declined considerably over the past 30 years, but it still remains one of the 20 most common names for boys. In Northern Ireland, the name has appeared among the 10 most popular for the last quarter of the 20th century and into the 21st. In 2013, James was the eighth most popular name for boys in Australia.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:James (Name) Given names of Hebrew language origin English-language masculine given names English masculine given names French masculine given names Masculine given names Modern names of Hebrew origin