Jacob Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Boy Names Like Jacob

Jacob Name Origin: Hebrew
Pronunciation: jay-cob
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Jacob Name Meaning

A long-time ruler of the U.S. Top Ten in the 2000s, Jacob has ancient roots with strong biblical ties. Hebrew for “supplanter,” Jacob is also related to the classic James.

Jacob offers a warmth and kindness not often found in boy names where strength and bravado are often cherished. Parents love his boy next door nickname of Jake, a friendly moniker similar to yesterday’s Jim and Johnny. They also love that he’s a J name, a perennial favorite among boy names as seen in Jason, Jackson, and Joshua.

Jacob’s popularity can also be tied to the rise of other biblical names as seen in Noah, Elijah, and Samuel. From the Hebrew name Ya’aqov, Jacob appears in the biblical Book of Genesis, the twin brother of Esau and the father of twelve sons who went on to start the Tribes of Israel. He was said to be a bit of a ornery one, born holding Esau’s heel as if trying to hold him back from being the firstborn son. This legend has lead to some referring to the name as meaning “holder of the heel.”

Variants of the name include Jacoby and Coby as well as the alternative spelling Jakob. Female variants include Jacqueline, Jaclyn, and Jackie. Names with a similar vibe include Caleb, Thomas, and Matthew.

Jacob Name Popularity

How popular is the name Jacob? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	120	225	0.0639%
1911	120	270	0.0725%
1912	110	655	0.1299%
1913	116	718	0.1266%
1914	112	970	0.1392%
1915	119	1,110	0.1222%
1916	123	1,112	0.1151%
1917	130	1,094	0.1094%
1918	132	1,173	0.1093%
1919	138	1,055	0.1008%
1920	143	1,026	0.0923%
1921	144	1,068	0.0933%
1922	148	1,003	0.09%
1923	158	953	0.0851%
1924	163	953	0.0821%
1925	165	873	0.0772%
1926	178	783	0.0712%
1927	173	827	0.0747%
1928	196	692	0.0647%
1929	206	612	0.0591%
1930	211	587	0.0562%
1931	220	532	0.0539%
1932	218	527	0.0533%
1933	216	501	0.0538%
1934	218	520	0.0538%
1935	245	437	0.045%
1936	225	479	0.0497%
1937	219	516	0.0524%
1938	240	452	0.0442%
1939	265	378	0.0372%
1940	233	490	0.0461%
1941	269	415	0.0369%
1942	248	502	0.0398%
1943	282	438	0.0336%
1944	286	393	0.0317%
1945	296	377	0.0309%
1946	305	416	0.0282%
1947	299	488	0.0292%
1948	292	510	0.0319%
1949	310	449	0.0279%
1950	322	407	0.0253%
1951	311	460	0.0271%
1952	298	524	0.03%
1953	287	563	0.0318%
1954	306	515	0.0282%
1955	307	532	0.0289%
1956	322	494	0.0262%
1957	332	501	0.026%
1958	340	477	0.0252%
1959	331	517	0.0272%
1960	349	457	0.0241%
1961	353	460	0.0244%
1962	375	420	0.0229%
1963	352	448	0.025%
1964	339	503	0.0286%
1965	348	442	0.027%
1966	357	408	0.0261%
1967	351	410	0.027%
1968	324	512	0.0341%
1969	297	618	0.0401%
1970	251	894	0.0562%
1971	219	1,036	0.0689%
1972	153	1,675	0.123%
1973	122	2,118	0.1634%
1974	87	2,959	0.2277%
1975	75	3,626	0.2822%
1976	63	4,512	0.3501%
1977	56	5,795	0.4299%
1978	50	6,159	0.4581%
1979	45	7,546	0.5352%
1980	43	8,525	0.5831%
1981	43	9,352	0.6362%
1982	41	10,060	0.6732%
1983	36	11,001	0.7455%
1984	37	11,349	0.7629%
1985	35	12,272	0.8085%
1986	31	13,649	0.9042%
1987	31	14,318	0.9383%
1988	28	15,872	1.0185%
1989	26	17,830	1.1049%
1990	20	22,010	1.3279%
1991	17	25,190	1.5454%
1992	15	25,661	1.6077%
1993	9	27,482	1.7628%
1994	7	29,413	1.9166%
1995	4	31,129	2.0655%
1996	3	31,923	2.132%
1997	2	34,151	2.309%
1998	2	36,014	2.4062%
1999	1	35,361	2.3613%
2000	1	34,471	2.2565%
2001	1	32,541	2.1597%
2002	1	30,568	2.0398%
2003	1	29,630	1.9476%
2004	1	27,879	1.8292%
2005	1	25,830	1.6894%
2006	1	24,841	1.5865%
2007	1	24,273	1.5384%
2008	1	22,591	1.4617%
2009	1	21,169	1.4163%
2010	1	22,117	1.5348%
2011	1	20,365	1.4294%
2012	1	19,069	1.3382%
2013	2	18,148	1.2747%
2014	4	16,869	1.1578%
2015	4	15,938	1.0954%
2016	7	14,479	1.0042%
2017	10	13,106	0.939%
2018	13	11,770	0.8567%
2019	13	10,679	0.7889%
2020	15	9,080	0.7134%
2021	24	8,397	0.6869%
2022	32	7,539	0.5715%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Jacob

If you like Jacob, you’ll love these other names like Jacob.

What names are diminutives of Jacob?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Jacob sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Jacob, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Cob	He who supplants	Hebrew
Cobb		English
Cobby	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jaap	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jack	God is gracious	English
Jackie	Son of Jack; he who supplants; God is gracious	Hebrew
Jacko	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacky	Son of Jack; he who supplants; God is gracious	Hebrew
Jaco	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jaime	A Spanish form of James and Jacob.	Spanish
Jake	Supplanter	English
Jamey	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jamie	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jamsey	He who supplants	Hebrew

Jay	To heal	English
Jayme	He who supplants	Spanish
Jim	A diminutive form of James.	Hebrew
Jimmie	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jock	God is gracious	Hebrew
Kobi		Hungarian

What names are variants of Jacob?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Jacob.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Giacamo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Giacobbe	He who supplants	Hebrew
Giacobo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Giacomo	An Italian form of Jacob and James.	Italian
Giacopo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Hamish	Supplanter	Scottish
Iacopo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Iacovo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Iago	A Spanish form of Jacob and James.	Welsh

Iakob	He who supplants	Hebrew
Iakobos	He who supplants	Hebrew
Iakov	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacobi	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacobo	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacobus	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacoby	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jacopo		Italian
Jacques	A French form of James and Jacob.	French
Jacquet	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jago	A Spanish form of James and Jacob.	English
Jakeb	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jakie	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jakob	He who supplants	Hebrew
Jakov	He who supplants	Hebrew

Jakub	He who supplants	Hebrew
James	Supplanter	English
Jamesie	He who supplants	Hebrew
Seamus	Supplanter	Irish
Shamus	A variant form of James.	Irish
Yaacob	He who supplants	Hebrew
Yakob	He who supplants	Hebrew
Yakov	He who supplants	Hebrew
Yakup	He who supplants	Hebrew
Yaqub	He who supplants	Hebrew

What names sound like Jacob?

If you like how Jacob sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Jacob.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Caleb	Whole heart	Hebrew
Jacek
Jacory	Created Name	American
Jameson	Son of James	English
Jason	To heal	Greek

What names are similar to Jacob?

Find a name that’s like Jacob, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

David	Beloved	Hebrew
Ethan	Enduring and strong	Hebrew
Gabriel	God is my strength	Hebrew
Isaiah	God is salvation	Hebrew
John	God is gracious	Hebrew
Jonah	Dove	Hebrew
Joseph	Jehovah will increase	Hebrew
Michael	Who is Like God?	Hebrew
Noah	To rest	Hebrew
Samuel	Name of God	Hebrew

Lists With Jacob

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Jacob.

Siblings of Jacob

Mamas with kids named Jacob also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Augustus	Great, magnificient	Latin
Gabriel	God is my strength	Hebrew
Alex	Defender of man	Greek
Kayden	Son of Cadan	American
Kylie	Boomerang	Aboriginal

Chloe	Green sprout	Greek
Layla	Night	Arabic
Margot	Pearl	French
Shalom	Peace	Hebrew
Promise	One's word	English
Mateo	Gift of God	Spanish
Micah	Who is Like God?	Hebrew
Zacharias	The Lord recalled	Hebrew
Elijah	My God is Yahweh	Hebrew
Khloe	Green sprout	Greek
Martavious
Nora	Honorable one	Latin

Share Your Thoughts

26 Comments

Sarah Dec 14 at 2:33 am

I loved the name James for biblical reasons, but my hubby didn’t. However both James and Jacob are the same name in Hebrew and so we were able to settle on Jacob for that reason. My husband wanted a name that come have a nickname/shortened name.

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Pin Jul 7 at 11:09 am

Excited to see updates

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- jacob Oct 15 at 11:01 am
  
  I like the name Jacob and my name is jacob
  
  Reply
Melinda Apr 21 at 7:13 am

We liked how it sounded.

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Alexandra Mar 22 at 7:25 pm

Jacob is a family name on both my side and my husband’s side. We named our son Jacob to honor the Jacobs in our family trees!

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Grace Mar 10 at 11:56 pm

Jacob from the Bible who became Israel the father of 12 tribes.

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jacob Dec 6 at 9:52 am

horrible name. would NOT recommend.

I just don’t wanna be called gaycob 🙁

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- jacob Apr 17 at 10:22 pm
  
  I know bro i get called that all the time at college
  
  Reply
Tinicha Sep 14 at 3:13 am

The name Jacob just came to me one day and I love it because no one in my family has that name.

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Sherrick Jul 25 at 11:45 pm

I’d always loved to the name Jacob seeing my baby boy for the first time I knew I wanted to name him Jacob its different for my family in he also looks like a Jacob

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Phyllis Mar 31 at 10:01 am

It is a strong biblical name and I don’t mind the nicknames that come from it. Middle name is Joseph also biblical and after my fathers name.

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Stacy Mar 13 at 12:48 pm

We had a few names pick out. We just like how it sounded with his whole name.

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Jackie Mar 1 at 6:03 am

We chose the name Jacob for several reason. One both my husband and I have J names (husband is Jose) I also am a twilight fan and loved Jacob Black. Jacob is also mentioned in the Bible. We do use Jake as a nickname, I hate anyone who referenced Jake from state farm.

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Lovetee Daigbe Jan 2 at 10:15 am

I had a great experience with my pregnancy. Even though at the end, I had couple little issues but when my baby got here, I knew everything I went through was all worthy. I am very grateful that god chose me to experience this journey and be part of motherhood. I love my son to the moon and back and I won’t mind doing it over and over again just for him.

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Ashleigh Nov 23 at 11:14 am

My maiden name is Jacobs. So all of the most influential men of my life carry that last name. I didn’t want to choose just one of them to name my son after, so I chose Jacob since it covered them all! ?

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Natalie Sep 18 at 12:12 pm

He is named after his dad.

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Brieanne Aug 3 at 8:54 am

Jacob is my husband’s grandfather’s name.

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Maria Apr 9 at 8:59 pm

I liked that name for my baby son “his 20 already” because it’s a beautiful and it gives kind of importance to the person that has it

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April Nov 22 at 12:48 am

My husband wanted my sons name to be Jacob because he had a best friend named Jacob when he was a kid

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Jacob Aug 19 at 12:48 am

We choose the name after my husbands uncle who past away last march!

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Kathryn vega Aug 17 at 2:34 pm

Jacob was named by his siblings David and Isaac it was a great to have them involved in nameing their baby brother his middle name he got from his dad I just thought my children being involved in Jacobs name it would bring them closer to their baby brother and it has

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Jacob noel ortega Aug 14 at 6:11 pm

Bible names are cool

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Breanna Jul 9 at 5:51 pm

I love the name

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Elizabeth Jun 16 at 10:18 pm

Biblical name, short and simple. Lots of knickname options. Two syllables only.

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Peggy Jun 11 at 9:09 am

I ask my daughter to give me boys name and she same luke david jacob and a bunch of other boy name but jacob stuck put for me and i just knew in my.heart i was going to have a jacob.

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Raimonda Apr 13 at 1:43 pm

At the time we chose the name there weren’t lots of Jacobs around us, it wasn’t very popular and we liked that. It sounded beautiful in our native language, which is a bit different from the English name version.

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Jacob