Jacob Meaning

What does Jacob mean?

The name Jacob is of Hebrew origin.

The meaning of Jacob is "supplanter".

Jacob is generally used as a boy's name.

It consists of 5 letters and 2 syllables and is pronounced Ja-cob.

The Given Name Jacob

Jacob is the anglicized form of the Latin Iacobus, which is a form of the Greek New Testament name Iakobos, itself a form of the Hebrew Old Testament name Ya-akov.

The Biblical name Yaakov, was borne by one of the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis.

He was the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of twelve sons who eventually leant their names to the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

The name derives its' meaning from the Hebrew word ahkev meaning "heel", as Jacob took hold of the heel of his twin brother Esau upon birth. This is later interpreted in the Bible as "supplanter".

James is another popular anglicized form of the name.

Jacob falls into the name categories biblical, easy nickname.

Some famous bearers of this name include: Jacob Cats, and Jacob de Kempenaer.

Jacob Popularity

In the U.S. in 2018, it ranked 13 in baby name popularity for boys with 11,770 occurrences. It ranked 10,836 in baby name popularity for girls with 9 occurrences.

In contrast, the year before it ranked 10 in baby name popularity for boys with 13,178 occurrences. It ranked 7,205 in baby name popularity for girls with 16 occurrences.

View the Jacob Name Popularity Page to see how the popularity trend for Jacob has changed since 1880, or to compare the popularity of Jacob to other names.

Jacob Related Names

Jacob is a form of Iacobus.

Variants of the name Jacob include Jacoba, Jacobe, Jacobi, Jacobina, Jacobine, Jacoby, Jakeb, Jakobe, Jaycob.

The names Hagop, Hakob, Iago, Iakopa, Iakovos, Jaagup, Jaak, Jaakko, Jaako, Jaakob, Jaccob, Jacobo, Jacobus, Jacomus, Jacopo, Jacoup, Jacques, Jak, Jaka, Jakab, Jakes, Jakob, Jakoba, Jakobah, Jakobie, Jakov, Jakub, Yaacov, Yaakov, Ya-akov, Yaaqob, Yacoub, Yaghoub, Yago, Yakiv, Yakov, Yankel, Yasha are all forms of Jacob.

Jacob has the diminutives (nicknames) Cobey, Cobi, Cobie, Coby, Jake, Jeb, Kapel, Koppel.

Famous Jacobs

Jacob ~ Biblical Character (Gen. 25:26/Gen. 32:28)
Jacob Cats ~ Writer
Jacob de Kempenaer ~ Dutch Prime Minister (1848-1849)
Jacob Grimm ~ Writer
Jacob Marley ~ A Christmas Carol character
Jacob van Maerlant ~ Writer
Jacob van Zuylen van Nijevelt ~ Dutch Prime Minister (1861; 1866-1868)

Jacob Numerology

What will your new littleJacob be like?

It may all be in the numbers.

The numbers that make up your child's name.

Numerology may give you some insight.

Children named Jacob are often immaculate and grumpy but most of all they are read more >>

Jacob Name Fun

Would you like to fingerspell the name Jacob in American Sign Language?

Then just follow the diagram below.

Be creative with the name Jacob.

Just for fun, see the name Jacob in Hieroglyphics, learn about ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphics and write a Hieroglyphic message.

Learn about nautical flags and see your name or message written in nautical flags, on the Jacob in Nautical Flags page.