Jacob (name)
Jacob is a common male given name and a less well-known surname. It is a cognate of James. Jacob is derived from Late Latin Iacobus, from Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakobos, from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿqob, Yaʿqov, Yaʿăqōḇ, Yaʿaqov), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and Rebecca. The name comes either from the Hebrew root עקב ʿqb meaning "to follow, to be behind" but also "to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach", or from the word for "heel", עֲקֵב ʿaqeb.
 Isaac Blessing Jacob, 1638 Govert Flinck painting. The name Jacob comes from the Biblical story of Jacob's birth where he came out holding the heel of his twin brother, Esau. | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdʒeɪkəb/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | derived from Late Latin Jacobus, from Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakovos, from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿqob, Yaʿaqov, Yaʿăqōḇ) |
| Meaning | "seizing by the heel", "supplanting" |
| Other names | |
| Related names | James, Jakob, Jake, Jack, Jakov, Yakub, Yakup |
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.[1]
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.
Modern usage
From 1999 through 2012, Jacob was the most popular baby name for boys in the United States.[2]
Variants
- Afrikaans – Jakob, Jacob, Jakobus, Jacobus
- Albanian – Jakup, Jakupi; Jakob, Jakobi; Gjokë, Gjoka; Zhak, Zhaku
- Arabic – Yaʿqūb, Yakub (يعقوب); see also (Jacob in Islam)
- Armenian – Յակոբ (classical Armenian and Western Armenian), Հակոբ (Eastern Armenian) (Hakob, Hagop)
- Azerbaijani – Yaqub, Yaqubun, Ceykob
- Basque – Jakobi, Jagoba
- Belarusian – Якуб, Якаў (Jakub, Jakaŭ)
- Bengali – জ্যাকব (Jyākob), ইয়াকুব (Iyakub)
- Bosnian – Jakub (Jakup)
- Bulgarian – Яков (Yakov)
- Catalan – Jacob, Jaume, Dídac
- Cebuano – Hakob
- Chichewa – Yakobo
- Chinese – 雅各 (Yǎgè)
- Cornish – Jago, Jammes, Jamma
- Croatian – Jakov, Jakob, Jakša
- Czech – Jakub (short form: Kuba)
- Danish – Jacob, Jakob, Jep, Jeppe, Ib
- Dutch – Jaak, Jaap, Jakob, Jacob, Jacobus, Sjaak, Kobus
- English – Jacob, Jake, Jakob, Jaycob; see also James
- Esperanto – Jakobo
- Estonian – Jaak, Jaagup, Jakob
- Ethiopia – Yacob, Yacob, Yakob
- Faroese – Jákup
- Fijian – Jekope, Kope
- Finnish – Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko
- French – Jacob, Jacques, Jayme, Jaume, Jacqueline (fem.)
- Galician – Xacobe, Santiago, Iago, Xaime
- Georgian – იაკობ (Iakob), კობა (Koba)
- German – Jakob, Jacob [ja:kop]
- Greek – Iákovos (Ιάκωβος), Iakóv (Ιακώβ), Yángos (Γιάγκος)
- Gujarati – જેકબ (Jēkaba)
- Haitian Creole – Jakòb
- Hausa – Yakubu
- 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 – Жақып (Zhaqyp, Zhakip)
- 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), Yakob
- Maltese – Ġakbu, Ġakobb
- Maori – Hakopa
- Marathi – याकोब (Yākōba)
- Malay – Yakub, Yaakub
- Mongolian – Иаков (Iakov)
- Montenegrin – Jakov, Jakša
- Myanmar – yarkote sai
- Nepali – याकूबले (Yākūbalē)
- Norwegian – Jakob
- Pampangan – Hakub
- Persian – Yaghub (یعقوب)
- Polish – Jakub (short form: Kuba, diminutive: Kubuś), Jakób, Jakubina and Żaklina (feminine forms adapted from French)
- Portuguese – Jacó, Iago, Tiago, Thiago, Diogo, Jácomo, Jacob
- Punjabi – ਯਾਕੂਬ ਨੇ (Yākūba nē)
- Romanian – Iacob, Iacov
- Russian – Иаков (Iakov) (archaic O.T. form), Яков (Yakov, Iakov), Яша (Yasha, Jascha) (diminutive)
- Samoan – Iakopo
- Scots – Hamish
- Scottish Gaelic – Seumas
- Serbian – Jakov (Јаков), Jakša (Јакша)
- Sesotho – Jakobo
- Sinhala – ජාකොබ් (Jakob), යාකොබ් (Yakob)
- Slovak – Jakub (short form: Kubo)
- Slovenian – Jakob [ja:kop], Jaka
- Somali – Yacquub
- Sorbian – Jakub
- Spanish – Jacob, Jacobo, Jaime, Yago, Diego, Santiago, Iago, Tiago
- Swahili – Yakobo
- Swedish – Jakob, Jacob
- Sylheti – য়াকুব (Yakub)
- Syriac – ܝܥܩܘܒ (Yaʿqub), also (Yaqo, Yaqko)
- Tagalog – Hakob
- Tajik – Яъқуб (Ja'quʙ)
- Tamil – யாக்கோபு (Yākkōpu)
- Telugu – యాకోబు (Yākôbu)
- Thai – จาค็อบ (with no capital 'J') Cā kh̆ xb, pronounced "Chaa-khawb", เจคอบ Ce khxb, pronounced "Ja-khawb"
- Turkish – Yakup
- Ukrainian – Yakiv (Яків)
- Urdu – یعقوب (Ya'qoob)
- Uzbek – Yoqub, Yakob, Ya'qub
- Vietnamese – Giacôbê, Giacóp
- Welsh – Siam, Jacob, Jac, Iago
- Xitsonga – Yakobo
- Yiddish – Yankev, Yankl, Yankel, Yankele
- 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)
- All pages with titles beginning with Jacob of
- All pages with titles beginning with Jacob the
See also
- All pages with titles beginning with Jacob
- All pages with titles beginning with Jakob
- Jacob (disambiguation)
References
- "And he said, Is not he rightly named Jacob? for he hath supplanted me (יַּעְקְבֵנִי) these two times: he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken away my blessing" (KJV)
- U.S. Social Security Administration – Popular Baby Names