Boy · Hebrew
James
Say it: JAYMZ
Meaning
From Latin Iacomus, a form of Iacobus (Jacob), from Hebrew Yaakov.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Used in medieval England and very popular in Scotland.
Its wave through time
Timeless: in steady use for over a century
In the United States
- 5,213,689 babies given this name since 1880
- At its height in 1880, about 1 in 19 boys
- 12,313 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The Biblical WorldAbout 1200 BC to AD 100
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- The Colonial Americas1500 to 1800
- The Age of Revolutions1750 to 1837
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
Early ChristianHebrewEnglishScottishIrishAmericanFrenchSpanishItalianPortugueseCatalan
The family of the name
Other spellings: Jame, Jamys
| French | Jacques |
|---|---|
| Spanish | Santiago |
| Italian | Giacomo |
| Portuguese | Tiago |
| German | Jakob |
| Polish | Jakub |
| Irish | Séamus |
| Catalan | Jaume |
Famous bearers
- James, son of Zebedee, apostle
- James VI and I, king of Scotland and England
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Hebrew Bible and the New Testament
- Royal and noble genealogies
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.