Names That Mean Supplanter

Semaj is part of a special club of names created by spelling other names backward (meet the president, Nevaeh). Semaj is a reversal of James and is used primarily for boys. But ever since James became fair game for girls, so did Semaj — it's now unisex in usage.

Peaked in the 1940s, but still an amiable classic, a la Joe and Tom -- though rarely used on its own.

A nickname for Jaakko, the Finnish form of Jacob.

Jakub is an authentic Polish variation of the megapopular Jacob, but in the US it will feel like a kree8tiv spelling. Kuba is the cute Polish short form.

Nickname-name that's all the rage in Scandinavia.

Unusual and unappealing.

Dutch short form of Jacobus, popular in South Africa.

One of Jacob’s perkier variations.

Either an alternative spelling of Jacques (ZHAK), the French form of Jack, or a Shakespearean character from As You Like It, pronounced JAY-kwiss.

What a difference a couple of letters make: Old World version of most popular name never quite made it out of the shtetl.

Irish form of Jamie

Irish form of Jamie

More grown up than Jamie, but never given to more than 13 baby girls in the US per year (and that back in 1968). Modern parents prefer Jamie, Jameson or even James itself, as Blake and Ryan Reynolds chose in 2014.

Popular enough in the Indian community to have made it onto the US Top 1000 every year from 2001 to 2014, possibly inspired by Jamaican activist Leachim Semaj (born Michael James).

Common Slovene nickname for Jakob that also stands on its own in the Top 100. Jaša rhymes with Sasha.

A top name in Eastern European countries including Croatia and Bosnia, where it is a transcription of Jacob.

The Finnish form of Jacob. A common nickname is Jaska.

Latin form of Jacob, also used in Dutch and Afrikaans.

An obscure nickname for Jacobina that would be virtually one-of-a-kind today. It's an inspired way to honor a Jacob in your life.

Jacobine is a rare -- no baby girls received the name in the US last year -- feminine form of the popular Jacob. But Jacobine has a quirky appeal. The Jacobins were a radical political club formed during the French revolution as well as an order of Dominican friars.