James
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About James
James is one of the classic Anglo-Saxon names, a stalwart through the ages that is more popular—and yes, stylish—than ever today. It recently came out Number 1 in a poll of America's favorite boys' baby names, and is the most common male name, counting people of all ages, in the US.
James for boys#6 US
James, which reentered the Top 5 in 2016, is a current favorite among fashionable parents looking for a baby name that has both style and substance. Like Henry and Theodore, it manages to combine these two stellar qualities.
An English derivation of the Hebrew name Jacob, James is biblical (the name of two apostles in the New Testament), royal (kings of both England and Scotland), and presidential (with more U.S. Chief Executives -- six -- than any other name). The name James is also shared by countless great writers and entertainers.
There are fewer Jimmys, Jimbos or even Jamies these days; the most fashionable form of the name is James itself. Several stylish celebrities have chosen it in recent years for their sons, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Liz Phair, Colin Farrell and Isaac Hanson. Brendan Fehr thought out of the box and named his daughter James, which has now become a fashionable middle names for baby girls..
James has some interesting foreign variations: Diego and Jaime (Spanish), Jacques (French), Giacomo (Italian), Hamish (Scottish), Jaako (Finnish), Seamus (Irish), Jaap (Dutch) and Jago (Cornish).
Along with being one of the most popular first names in the US, James is also one of the most common American last names .
James for girls#2873 US
James for a girl? Believe it or not, this is one of the boy names for girls" gaining a lot of attention these days, since Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds shocked the world by choosing it for their eldest daughter in 2014 (after his late father).
Since then, it's become something of a celebrity baby middle name du jour, with high-profile parents including Coco Rocha, Kristin Cavallari, Nev Schulman and Brandon Jenner all having daughters with James in the middle spot.
Pronounced JAYMZ.
As of October 2026, James ranked #6 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #1 in 1947, Nameberry popularity #7.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #9 | 14,462 | #3,680 | 42 |
| 2015 | #7 | 14,861 | #3,879 | 39 |
| 2016 | #5 | 14,916 | #2,629 | 67 |
| 2017 | #4 | 14,357 | #2,367 | 77 |
| 2018 | #4 | 13,642 | #3,458 | 45 |
| 2019 | #6 | 13,193 | #2,576 | 68 |
| 2020 | #6 | 12,381 | #2,581 | 66 |
| 2021 | #5 | 12,464 | #2,567 | 68 |
| 2022 | #4 | 12,109 | #2,216 | 85 |
| 2023 | #4 | 11,727 | #2,322 | 79 |
| 2024 | #5 | 11,793 | #2,580 | 68 |
| 2025 | #6 | 11,945 | #2,873 | 59 |
World rankings
James for boys
James for girls
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like James.
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James on lists
Famous Jamess
- Saint James the JustBoy
brother of Jesus, first bishop of Jerusalem
- Saint James the ApostleBoy
son of Zebedee, brother of John the Apostle
- James IBoy
V, Kings of Scotland
- James I and VI and James II and VIIBoy
Kings of England and Scotland
- James I and IIBoy
Kings of Aragon
- James IIBoy
IV, Kings of Majorca
- James MadisonBoy
Jr., 4th U.S. president
- James MonroeBoy
5th U.S. president
- James Knox PolkBoy
11th U.S. president
- James BuchananBoy
Jr., 15th U.S. president
- James Abram GarfieldBoy
20th U.S. president
- James Earl "Jimmy" CarterBoy
Jr., 39th U.S. president
- James ConnollyBoy
Irish revolutionary leader, signatory and labor leader
- James LarkinBoy
Irish revolutionary leader and labor leader
- James Byron DeanBoy
American actor
- James Joseph BrownBoy
American singer
- James Eugene "Jim" CarreyBoy
Canadian actor
- James Maitland "Jimmy" StewartBoy
American actor
- James Patrick "Jimmy" PageBoy
English musician of band Led Zeppelin
- James TaylorBoy
American singer,songwriter
- James Earl JonesBoy
American actor
- James Todd Smith aka LL Cool JBoy
American rapper and actor
- James Byron CaseyBoy
American football player
- James CordenBoy
English comedian and TV host
- James Child DruryBoy
Jr., American actor
- James Edward FrancoBoy
American actor
- James Hillier BluntBoy
English singer,songwriter
- James Robert "Jim Bob" DuggarBoy
TV personality
- James Thomas "Jimmy" FallonBoy
American actor/comedian
- James FeigenBoy
American swimmer
- James George FrazerBoy
Scottish anthropologist
- James GarnerBoy
American actor
- James "Jimi" HendrixBoy
American singer
- James Maury "Jim" HensonBoy
American puppeteer
- James Augustine Aloysius JoyceBoy
Irish novelist and poet
- James Harvey "Jamie" KennedyBoy
American actor/comedian
- James Martin LaffertyBoy
American actor
- James Hiroyuki LiaoBoy
American actor
- James MagnussenBoy
Australian swimmer
- James MarloweBoy
American actor and singer
- James Paul MarsdenBoy
American actor
- James MarstersBoy
American actor
- James David MaslowBoy
American actor and singer
- James Clerk MaxwellBoy
Scottish mathematical physicist
- James Andrew McAvoyBoy
Scottish actor
- James Daniel McVeyBoy
lead guitarist for The Vamps
- James MorrisonBoy
English singer
- James "Murr" MurrayBoy
comedian from TV's Impractical Jokers
- James RainwaterBoy
American physicist and Nobel prize winner
- James RightonBoy
member of the British band, Klaxons
- James RobertsBoy
Australian swimmer
- James RollinsBoy
American Author
- James David Van Der BeekBoy
American actor
- James WolfeBoy
British war hero
- (James) Paul McCartneyBoy
English musician of The Beatles
- James William AcasterBoy
British comedian
- James David "Roady" RodriguezBoy
American actor
- James Andrew Eric PhelpsBoy
English actor
- James Anthony YammouniBoy
Youtube comedian
- James A. LovellBoy
Jr., American astronaut
- James A. McDivittBoy
American astronaut
- James FitzjamesBoy
British Royal Navy officer
- James Joseph "Jim" ParsonsBoy
American actor
- James Elliot BourneBoy
British musician of band Busted
- James Alfred "Jim" ChapmanBoy
British vlogger
- James PerryBoy
American actor in YouTube sketch comedy show Studio C
- James Francis "Jim" CameronBoy
Canadian filmmaker, director, and producer
- James Metcalfe "Jamie" Campbell BowerBoy
English actor, singer, and model
- James Ma (born James Assarasakorn)Boy
Thai actor and model
- James KowatsBoy
American executive producer
- James MilnerBoy
English professional footballer
- James "UberHaxorNova" WilsonBoy
YouTube personality
- James Charles DickinsonBoy
YouTube personality
- James TurnerBoy
YouTuber
- James Leonard Gillette (b.1997)Boy
son of Lita Ford and Jim Gillette of Nitro
- James Andrew Duggar (b. 2001)Boy
13th child of reality TV's Duggar family
- James Wilkie Broderick (b. 2002)Boy
son of actors Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker
- James Alexander Philip Theo MountbattenBoy
Windsor, Viscount Severn (b. 2007); son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; grandson of Queen Elizabeth II
- James Monroe Hanson (b. 2008)Boy
son of American musician Isaac Hanson
- James Hoke Dorough (b. 2009)Boy
son of singer Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys
- James Joseph Cavanagh (b. 2009)Boy
son of Canadian actor Tom Cavanagh
- James Timothy Pudi (b. 2012)Boy
son of actor Danny Pudi
- James Knight Newman (b. 2013)Boy
son of actress and model Jaime King
- James Hamilton McDonough (b. 2014)Boy
son of actor Neal McDonough
- James Jeffrey Dunham (b. 2015)Boy
son of comedian Jeff Dunham
- James Arthur WalkerBoy
IV (b. 2016), son of American news correspondent Brooke Anderson
- Jamin James Pastore (b.2017)Boy
son of Natalie Pasquarella and Jamin Pastore
- James Andrew Glennon (b. 2018)Boy
son of American reality television personality Amber Portwood, half,brother to Leah Leann
- James Holt Joblon (b. 2019)Boy
son of Claire Holt and Andrew Joblon.
- James Hunter BaileyBoy
son of Devon Aoki and James Bailey.
- James Francis Cagney Jr.Boy
American actor
- Yu-fan "James" ChaoBoy
Taiwanese-Thai singer, songwriter, and choreographer under BigHit Music; member of Kpop boy-band Cortis
- AnoukGirl
James Christiansen, British Child Actress and Model, known for The Glass Room and The Irregulars
- James KingGirl
former stage name of Jamie King, American model and actress
- James KicinskiGirl
McCoy aka Miss James, American blogger of Bleubird
- James Olivia Fehr (b. 2008)Girl
daughter of actor Brendan Fehr
- James Reynolds (b. 2014)Girl
daughter of actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds
James in pop culture
- James BondBoy
007, spy character created by Ian Fleming
- James Tiberius KirkBoy
captain in the Star Trek series
- James 'Jim' HawkinsBoy
main character in RL Stevenson's Treasure Island and Disney's Treasure Planet
- James Isaac "Jimmy" NeutronBoy
main character in Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius
- James ConradBoy
character in "King Kong" series
- "James & the Giant PeachBoy
" novel by Roald Dahl, movie and main character
- James "Prongs" PotterBoy
father of Harry James Potter in the Harry Potter series
- James Sirius PotterBoy
son of Harry James Potter in the Harry Potter series
- James "Jem" CarstairsBoy
character in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series
- James "Jim" MoriartyBoy
nemesis in the Sherlock Holmes series
- James "Rhodey" RhodesBoy
character in Marvel Universe
- James Buchanan "Bucky" BarnesBoy
character in Marvel Universe
- James "Logan" HowlettBoy
also known as Wolverine, character in Marvel Universe
- James "Sawyer" FordBoy
character on TV series "Lost"
- James "Jim" PaxtonBoy
character in Marvel Universe
- James GriffinBoy
the MFE pilot in Voltron: Legendary Defender
- James SunderlandBoy
main character in the video game "Silent Hill 2"
- James LearyBoy
character in video game "The Sims 3: Moonlight Bay"
- James DiamondBoy
character on TV's "Big Time Rush"
- JamesBoy
character in the Twilight series
- James "Jimmy" KentBoy
character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
- JamesBoy
main character in viral short film "One,Minute Time Machine" (2014)
- James TrivetteBoy
character on TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- JamesBoy
member of Team Rocket in the Pokemon series
- James Duncan "Jim" HalpertBoy
character on TV's "The Office"
- James Lucas "Jamie" ScottBoy
character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
- JamesBoy
a train on TV's "Thomas & Friends"
- James "Wilke" Wilkerson IIIBoy
Character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
- James WhitlockBoy
character in the Mindbender series by Veronica Slemp
- James StarkBoy
character in the 'House of Night' series by PC Cast
- James GatzBoy
birth name of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"
- James ByrdBoy
penguin in "Spyro the Dragon" video games
- James WalshamBoy
main character in G. A. Henty's, With Wolfe in Canada
- James HerondaleBoy
main character in Cassandra Clare's "The Last Hours"
- James 'Iggy' GriffithsBoy
character in the Maximum Ride novels
- JamesBoy
character in video game "Fallout 3"
- James YewbeamBoy
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- James Morgan "Jimmy" McGillBoy
real name of Saul Goodman, character on TV's 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'
- James DennetBoy
character in Mary Kubica's novel "The Good Girl"
- James "Jimmy" PalmerBoy
character on TV's "NCIS"
- James Evan WilsonBoy
character on TV's "House M.D."
- James "Jim" BrassBoy
character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
- James RookBoy
character in webcomic "Hotblood!"
- James Bartholomew "Jimmy" OlsenBoy
character in DC Universe
- James Jacob "Jim" HarperBoy
also known as Guardian, character in DC Universe
- James JesseBoy
also known as Trickster, character in DC Universe
- James Gordon Sr. and James Gordon Jr.Boy
characters in DC Universe
- James Bennet(t) Sr. and James Bennet(t) Jr.Boy
characters in DC Universe
- James Keziah DelaneyBoy
Tom Hardy's character in Taboo (TV Series)
- James "Jim" Lake Jr.Boy
character in DreamWorks Trollhunters
- James VanderboomBoy
character in Rusty Lake: Roots
- James Ratri aka William MinervaBoy
character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland"
- "King James and Brown"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "James Grant"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Bonnie James Campbell"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "Sir James the Rose"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "James Harris (The Daemon Lover)"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"
- "James Hatley"Boy
A ballad in the 19th century collection "The Child Ballads"