Jacob

From the Latin Iacob, which was from the Greek Ἰακώβ (Iakob), which was from the Hebrew name יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov). In the Old Testament Jacob (later called Israel) is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of the twelve founders of the twelve tribes of Israel. He was born holding his twin brother Esau's heel, and his name is explained as meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", because he twice deprived his brother of his rights as the firstborn son (see Genesis 27:36). Other theories claim that it is in fact derived from a hypothetical name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect".

The English names Jacob and James derive from the same source, with James coming from Latin Iacomus, a later variant of the Latin New Testament form Iacobus. Unlike English, many languages do not have separate spellings for the two names.

In England, Jacob was mainly regarded as a Jewish name during the Middle Ages, though the variant James was used among Christians. Jacob came into general use as a Christian name after the Protestant Reformation. In America, although already moderately common, it steadily grew in popularity from the early 1970s to the end of the 1990s, becoming the top ranked name from 1999 to 2012.

A famous bearer was Jacob Grimm (1785-1863), the German linguist and writer who was, with his brother Wilhelm, the author of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

natural   wholesome   strong   refined  

actors, Animal Crossing characters, Anne of Green Gables characters, artists, Assassins Creed Characters, athletes, authors, biblical, biblical patriarchs, Charles Dickens characters, directors, fictional characters, Grand Theft Auto IV characters, literature, never out of the US top 1000, Orthodox saints, Ozark characters, painters, Philip K Dick characters, poets, Rick and Morty characters, Roseanne characters, saints, scientists, song titles, Stephen King characters, Supernatural characters, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel characters, Thomas Hardy characters, top 10 in New Zealand, top 10 in Northern Ireland, top 10 in the UK, top 10 in the US, True Detective characters, Twilight characters, uncertain etymology, Westworld characters, world leaders, YouTubers, Ys characters