Jacob (name)
Jacob is a common male given name and a less well-known surname. It is a cognate of James, derived from Late Latin Iacobus, from Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakobos, from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿaqōḇ), 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. It can also be taken to mean "may God protect."[1][2]
 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 Iakobos, from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿakov) |
| Meaning | "seizing by the heel", "supplanting", "may God protect" |
| Other names | |
| Short form(s) | Jack, Jake, Jay, Jakey, Coby, Jem |
| Related names | James, Jakob, Jakov, Jakub, Ya'koub, Yakub, Yakup, Ya'qoub |
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.[3]
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.[4]
Variants
- Afrikaans – Jakob, Jakobus, Jacobus
- Albanian – 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) (Hakob, Hagop)
- Azerbaijani – Yaqub, Yaqubun, Ceykob
- Basque – Jakobi, Jagoba
- Belarusian – Якуб, Якаў (Jakub, Jakaŭ)
- Bengali – জ্যাকব (Jyākob), ইয়াকুব (Iyakub)
- Bosnian – Jakub (Jakup)
- Breton – Jakob, Jakez
- Bulgarian – Яков (Yakov)
- Catalan – Jaume, Dídac
- Cebuano – Hakob
- Chichewa – 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 – Jakob, Jack, Jake, Jay, Jaycob; 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)
- Gujarati – જેકબ (Jēkaba)
- Haitian Creole – Jakòb
- Hausa – Yakubu
- Hawaiian – Iakopo
- Hebrew –Ya'akov (יעקב), Koby, Ya'akova (female)
- Hindi – याकूब (Yākūba)
- Hmong – Yakhauj
- Hungarian – Jakab, Jákob
- Icelandic – Jakob, Jakop
- Igbo – Jekọb
- Indonesian – Yakub (used both by Muslims and Christians)
- 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), യാക്കോബ് (Yakob)
- Maltese – Ġakbu, Ġakobb
- Māori – 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 – Yaghub (یعقوب)
- Polish – Jakub, Kuba, Jakubina and Żaklina
- 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 – 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 – 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)
- 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
- Jonathan Z. Smith, Map is Not Territory: Studies in the History of Religions, University of Chicago Press (1978), p. 33.
- "Meaning, origin, and history of the name Jacob". Behind the Name.
- "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