Jacob (name)

Jacob is a common masculine given name of Hebrew origin. The English form is derived from the Latin , from the Greek (Iakobos), ultimately from the Hebrew (), the name of Jacob, biblical patriarch of the Israelites, and a major figure in the Abrahamic religions. 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", . 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.Jonathan Z. Smith, Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions, University of Chicago Press (1978), p. 33.

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 (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."And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me () these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing" (KJV)

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

Jacob and James are now regarded as distinct names in English despite sharing an etymological root. This distinction does not exist in most other European cultures and languages.

Modern usage From 1999 through 2012, Jacob was the most popular baby name for boys in the United States. In 2022, it was the twelfth most popular name given to boys in Canada. The name is used by Christians in South India as a given name but also as a surname. Variants Afrikaans – Jakob, Jakobus, Jako, Jacobus, Jaco, Koos, Kobus, Cobus Albanian – Jakob, Jakop, Jakov, Jakub, Jakup, Jak, Jakë, Jako, Jaku, Jake Arabic – Yaʿqūb, Yakub (); see also Jacob in Islam Aragonese – Chacobo, Chaime Armenian – Յակոբ (Classical Armenian orthography), Հակոբ (Reformed Armenian orthography) (Hakob, Hagop) Azerbaijani – Yaqub/Yağub, Yaqubalı/Yağubalı, Yaqubəli/Yaqubəli, Yaqubxan/Yağubəli Basque – 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 – (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, Jakeb, Jacoby; see also James Esperanto – Jakobo Estonian – Jaak, Jaagup, Jakob Ethiopia – 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, Iago, Xaime Georgian – იაკობ (Iakob), კობა (Koba) German – Jakob Greek – Iákovos (Ιάκωβος), Iakóv (Ιακώβ), Yángos (Γιάγκος), Yiakoumis (Γιακουμής) Gujarati – જેકબ (Jēkab) Haitian Creole – Jakòb Hausa – Yakubu Hawaiian – Iakopo Hebrew –Ya'akov (יעקב), Koby, Ya'akova (female) Hindi – 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 () Javanese – Yakub Kannada – 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) Latin – Iacobus Latvian – Jēkabs Lithuanian – Jokūbas Macedonian – Јаков Malayalam – ചാക്കോ (Chacko), യാക്കോബ് (Yakob) Maltese – Ġakbu, Ġakobb Māori – Hākopa, Hakopa Marathi – याकोब (Yākōba) Malay – Akob, Yakub, Yaakub Mongolian – Иаков (Iakov) Montenegrin – Jakov, Jakša Myanmar – yarkote sai Nepali – याकूबले (Yākūbalē) Norwegian – Jakob Pampangan – Hakub Persian – Yaqub, Yaghoub () 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 – Iàcob, Seumas Serbo-Croatian – Jakov (Јаков), Jakob (Јакоб), Jakub (Јакуб), Jakup (Јакуп), Jakša (Јакша) Sesotho – Jakobo Sinhala – ජාකොබ් (Jakob), යාකොබ් (Yakob) Slovak – Jakub (short form: Kubo) Slovenian – Jakob [ja:kop], Jaka Somali – Yacquub Sorbian – Jakub Spanish – Jacobo, Yago, Iago, Santiago, 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 – یعقوب (Ya'kub) Uzbek – Yoqub, Yakob, Ya'qub Vietnamese – Giacôbê, Giacóp Welsh – Siam, Jac, Iago Xitsonga – Yakobo Yiddish – 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)

See also

Jacob (disambiguation)

References