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Jacob

Hebrew
"supplanter"
Linda Rosenkrantz
By Linda Rosenkrantz
Updated Wed Apr 09 2025

Jacob Origin and Meaning

The name Jacob is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter".

Biblical Jacob ceded his Number 1 spot to biblical Noah, in 2013, after holding first place on the list of baby boy names from 1999 to 2012, given a huge boost by the Twilight phenomenon.

Jacob has widespread appeal to a range of parents, with an image of honesty and warmth. Another plus is the friendly nickname Jake — also given on its own to thousands of boys every year — which shares the cool-yet-earthy appeal of equally stylish cousins Max and Sam.

Jacob comes from the Latin name Iacobus, which was ultimately derived from the Hebrew name Ya’aqov. In the Old Testament, Jacob was one of the most important patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. He was the youngest son of Isaac and Rebecca and the twin brother of Esau, as well as the husband of both Leah and Rachel. The 12 tribes of Israel evolved from his 12 sons.

Jacob is still among the most popular boy names starting with J, along with James, Jack, and Jackson, and is Number 1 for boys among Gen Z names.

The downside is that Jacob is at this point way overused. Jacoby is one trendy variation. Jakob, meanwhile, is an alternate spelling used by the Dutch, Scandinavians and Germans. Some interesting international versions include the Scottish Hamish, the Cornish Jago, and the Dutch Jaap.

# 36 in the US

Jacob Rank in US Top 1000

# 133 on Nameberry

Jacob Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Jacob

20 Names Similar to Jacob

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Jacob.

Famous People Named Jacob

  • Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma
    President of South Africa
  • Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm
    German philologist, jurist, and mythologist.
  • Jacob Benjamin "Jake" Gyllenhaal
    American actor.
  • Jacob Edward "Jake" Peavy
    American baseball pitcher.
  • Jacob Anthony deGrom
    American baseball pitcher.
  • Jacob Mark "Jake" Pitts
    American guitarist.
  • Jacob Vargas
    Mexican,American actor.
  • Jacob Dolson Cox
    American politician; 28th Governor of Ohio.
  • Jacob Artist
    American actor and singer.
  • Jacob Daniel Handy
    American actor.
  • Jacob Tremblay
    Canadian actor.
  • Jacob Seth Lofland
    American actor.
  • Jacob Hubner
    German entomologist.
  • Jacob Isaacksz van Ruisdael
    Dutch landscape painter.
  • Jacob Whitesides
    American singer
  • Jacob Tyler "J.T." Realmuto
    American baseball player.
  • Jacob Loucks Devers
    U.S. Army general
  • Jacob Warner
    birth name of Jack Leonard "J. L." Warner, Canadian,American film executive
  • Jacob August Riis
    Danish,American journalist and activist
  • Jacob Bernoulli
    Swiss mathematician
  • Jacob Pavlovich Adler (born Yankev P. Adler)
    Ukrainian,American Yiddish actor
  • Jacob Edward "Jake" Hoffman
    American actor
  • Jacob "Jake" Dalton
    American artistic gymnast
  • (Rolf) Jacob Sartorius
    American pop singer
  • Jacob Batalon
    Filipino,American actor
  • Jacob Emerson "Jake" Fishman (b. 2008)
    son of actress Courtney Thorne,Smith
  • Jacob Bryan Fisher (b. 2019)
    son of American singer,songwriter Carrie Underwood and American former professional ice hockey player Mike Fisher
  • Ryan Paevey (born Ryan Jacob Paevey
    Vlieger), American model and actor
  • Jacob Erwin Wetterling (b. 1978)
    11 year old American boy who was abducted and murdered in 1989

The name Jacob in Pop Culture

  • Jacob Marley
    character from Dickens' "A Christmas Carol"
  • Jacob Black
    werewolf character in the "Twilight" series
  • Jacob
    character from TV's "Lost"
  • Jacob David "Jake" Harper
    character on TV's "Two and a Half Men"
  • Jacob Jankowski
    main character in book/movie "Water for Elephants"
  • Jacob Portman
    main character in the "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" series by Ransom Riggs
  • Jacob "Jake" Pentecost
    character in "Pacific Rim"
  • Jacob Carter
    character on TV's "Stargate: SG,1"
  • Jacob Gallagher
    character on British soap "Emmerdale"
  • Jacob "Jake" Moon
    character on British soap "EastEnders"
  • Jacob "Jake" Sisko
    character on TV's "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine"
  • Jacob Daniel Johnson
    character in the Nightmare on Elm Street series
  • Jacobitism
    18th century political movement to restore the Roman Catholic Stuart King James II of England to the throne
  • Jacob "Jake" Barnes
    character in Ernest Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises"
  • Jacob
    a character in "The Forest of Hands and Teeth" by Carrie Ryan
  • Jacob Kowalski
    character in "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" by J.K. Rowling
  • Jacob Palmer
    character in film "Crazy, Stupid, Love"

The name Jacob in Nameberry Blog Posts