Jacob is a common masculine

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 f ...

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

origin. The English form is derived from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Iacobus'', from the Greek (''Iakobos''), ultimately from the

(''Yaʿaqōḇ''), the name of

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

, biblical patriarch of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

, and a major figure in the

Abrahamic religions The term Abrahamic religions is used to group together monotheistic religions revering the Biblical figure Abraham, namely Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The religions share doctrinal, historical, and geographic overlap that contrasts them wit ...

. 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", ''ʿakeb''. The prefix “ya-” and the internal vowel “-o-” typically indicate a masculine third-person singular imperfective form in Hebrew, suggesting meanings like “he will”, “he may”, or “he shall”. It can also be taken to mean "may God protect" or "may he protect" as Hebrew grammar does not specify whether the name bearer ("he") is the subject (the one who acts) or the object (the one who is acted upon), making the interpretation open-ended." In the narrative of Genesis, it refers to the circumstances of Jacob's birth when he held on to the heel of his older twin brother

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

(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 James the Great ( Koinē Greek: Ἰάκωβος, romanized: ''Iákōbos''; Aramaic: ܝܥܩܘܒ, romanized: ''Yaʿqōḇ''; died AD 44) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. According to the New Testament, he was the second of the apostles t ...

, (2) another apostle, James, son of Alphaeus, and (3) James the brother of Jesus (James the Just), who led the original Nazarene Community in Jerusalem. There are several Jacobs in the

genealogy of Jesus The New Testament provides two accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, one in the Gospel of Matthew and another in the Gospel of Luke. Matthew starts with Abraham and works forwards, while Luke works back in time from Jesus to Adam. The lists of na ...

Modern usage

From 1999 through 2012, Jacob was the most popular baby name for boys in the United States. In 2022, it was the 12th most popular name given to boys in Canada.

Variants

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

– Jakob, Jakobus, Jacobus, Koos, Kobus, Cobus * Albanian – Jakob, Jakop, Jakov, Jakub, Jakup, Jak, Jakë, Jako, Jaku, Jake *

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

– Yaʿqūb, Yakub (يعقوب); see also

Jacob in Islam Yaqub ibn Ishaq ibn Ibrahim ibn Azar ( , ), later given the name Israil (, ), is recognized by Muslims as an Islamic prophet. He is held to have preached the same monotheism as his forefathers: Abraham, Ishmael, and Isaac. Jacob is mentione ...

* Aragonese – Chacobo, Chaime *

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

– Յակոբ (

Classical Armenian orthography Classical Armenian orthography, traditional orthography or Mashtotsian orthography ( in classical orthography and in reformed orthography, ''Hayereni tasagan ughakrutyun''), is the orthography that was developed by Mesrop Mashtots in the 5th centu ...

), Հակոբ ( Reformed Armenian orthography) (Hakob, Hagop) * Azerbaijani – Yaqub/Yağub, Yaqubalı/Yağubalı, Yaqubəli/Yaqubəli, Yaqubxan/Yağubəli *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

– Jakobi, Jagoba * Belarusian – Якуб, Якаў (Jakub, Jakaŭ) * Bengali – জ্যাকব (Jækôb), ইয়াকুব (Yaqub) * Breton – Jakob, Jakez * Bulgarian – Яков (Yakov) * Catalan – Jaume, Dídac * Cebuano – Hakob * Chichewa – Yakobo * Chinese – 雅各 (Yǎgè) * Cornish – Jago, Jammes, Jamma * Corsican – Ghjacumu * Croatian – Jakob, Jakov * Czech – Jakub * Danish – Jakob, Jep, Jeppe, Ib * Dutch – Jaak, Jaap, Jakob, Jacobus, Jacco, Jaco, Sjaak, Kobus, Koos * English – Jakob, Jack, Jake, Jay, Jaycob, Jacoby; see also James *

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

– Jakobo * Estonian – Jaak, Jaagup, Jakob *

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

– Yacob, Yacob, Yakob * Faroese – Jákup, Jakku * Fijian – Jekope, Kope * Finnish – Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko * French – Jacques, Jack, Jacob, Jayme, Jaume, Jacqueline (fem.) * Frisian – Japik * Galician – Xacobe,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Iago, Xaime * Georgian – იაკობ (Iakob), კობა (Koba) * German – Jakob * Greek – Iákovos (Ιάκωβος), Iakóv (Ιακώβ), Yángos (Γιάγκος) * Gujarati – જેકબ (Jēkab) *

Haitian Creole Haitian Creole (; , ; , ), or simply Creole (), is a French-based creole languages, French-based creole language spoken by 10 to 12million people worldwide, and is one of the two official languages of Haiti (the other being French), where it ...

– Jakòb * Hausa – Yakubu * Hawaiian – Iakopo *

–Ya'akov (יעקב), Koby, Ya'akova (female) *

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

– याकूब (Yākūb) * Hmong – Yakhauj * Hungarian – Jakab, Jákob * Icelandic – Jakob, Jakop * Igbo – Jekọb * Indonesian – Yakub, Jacob, Yacob * Irish – Iácóib, Séamas, Séamus, Sésamo, Sesame, Shéamais, Siacus * Italian – Giacomo, Iacopo, Jacopo, Giacobbe, Giacco * Japanese – Yakobu (ヤコブ) * Javanese – Yakub *

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

– ಜಾಕೋಬ್ (Jākōb) * Kashmiri - یعقوب (Yākūb, Yạ̄kūb) * Kazakh – Жақып (Jaqyp, Jakip, Yaqub) * Khmer – លោកយ៉ាកុប (lok yeakob) * Korean – Yagop (야곱) * Kyrgyz – Жакып (Dzhakyp) * Lao – ຢາໂຄບ (ya okhb) *

– Iacobus * Latvian – Jēkabs * Lithuanian – Jokūbas * Macedonian – Јаков *

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of ...

– ചാക്കോ ( Chacko), യാക്കോബ് (Yakob) * Maltese – Ġakbu, Ġakobb * Māori – Hakopa * Marathi – याकोब (Yākōba) * Malay – Akob, Yakub, Yaakub * Mongolian – Иаков (Iakov) * Montenegrin – Jakov, Jakša *

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

– yarkote sai * Nepali – याकूबले (Yākūbalē) * Norwegian – Jakob * Pampangan – Hakub * Persian – Yaqub, Yaghoub (یعقوب) * Polish – Jakub, Kuba (diminutive), Jakubina and Żaklina (fem.) * Portuguese – Jacó, Iago, Tiago, Thiago, Diogo, Jácomo, Jaime * Punjabi – 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 – Hamish, Jamie *

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

– Iàcob, Seumas *

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian ( / ), also known as Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS), is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. It is a pluricentric language with four mutually i ...

– Jakov (Јаков), Jakob (Јакоб), Jakub (Јакуб), Jakup (Јакуп), 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, Yago, Iago,

, Tiago, Diego, Jaime * Swahili – Yakobo * Swedish – Jakob * Sylheti – য়াকুব (Yakub) * Syriac – ܝܥܩܘܒ (Yaʿqub), also (Yaqo, Yaqko) * Tagalog – Hakob * Tajik – Яъқуб (Ja'quʙ) * Tamil – யாக்கோபு (Yākkōpu) * Telugu – యాకోబు (Yākôbu) * Thai – เจคอบ Ce khxb, pronounced "Ja-khawb" * Tigrinya – ያእቆብ, ያዕቆብ (Ya‘ik’obi) * Turkish – Yakup * Ukrainian – Yakiv (Яків) *

Urdu Urdu (; , , ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in South Asia. It is the Languages of Pakistan, national language and ''lingua franca'' of Pakistan. In India, it is an Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of Indi ...

– یعقوب (Ya'kub) * Uzbek – Yoqub, Yakob, Ya'qub * Vietnamese – Giacôbê, Giacóp * Welsh – Siam, Jac, Iago * Xitsonga – Yakobo *

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

– Yankev, Yankl, Yankel, Yankele, Kopl * Yoruba – Jakọbù * Zulu – Jakobe

People with the name

* Patriarch Jacob of Alexandria (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 Welsh given names German masculine given names Dutch masculine given names Swedish masculine given names Danish masculine given names Modern names of Hebrew origin Jewish given names

Modern usage

Variants

People with the name

See also

References