James is a common given name. It is the most popular name for a male in the United States, and during the 1990 U.S. Census, approximately 3.3% of males counted had the first name James. It is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "grasps by the heel" or "supplanter," probably in a deceiving way (In the bible Jacob was born grasping Esau's heel and later bought his birthright).

Etymology

---

The name came into English from the French variation Gemmes of the Late Latin word Iacomus, a substandard dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek (Iakōbos), from Hebrew יעקב (). Cognates include Jacob.

Translations

---

• Amharic: ያዕቆብ (Ya`iqob)
• Afrikaans: Jakob, or Jacobus
• Arabic: يعقوب (Yaʻqub)
• Armenian: Հակոբ (western Hagop, eastern Hakob)
• Azerbaijani: Yaqub
• Basque: Jakes
• Belarusian: Jakub
• Breton: Jagu, Jagut, Jacut, Jak, Jakes, Jakez, Jakezig, Jakou
• Bulgarian: Яков, (Yakov)
• Catalan: Jaim, Jaume, Xaume
• Chinese: 雅各 (pinyin: yǎgè), 詹姆士 (pinyin: zhānmǔshì), 詹姆斯 (pinyin: zhānmǔsī)
• Cornish: Jago, Jammes, Jamma
• Croatian: Jakov
• Czech: Jakub, Jakoubek, Kubicek (diminutive), Kubes Kubes, Kuba (diminutive)
• Danish: Jakob, Jeppe, Ib.
• Dutch: Jacob(us), Jakob, Jaap (diminutive), Cobus (diminutive), Coos (diminutive), Chime (diminutive)
• English: Jacob, Jakob (uncommon, by way of German, Yiddish, etc.), Jacoby (rare, chiefly American, and originally a surname), Jake (diminutive), Jakey (diminutive), Jackie (diminutive, chiefly British), Jack (diminutive, also taken as short for John), Coby (diminutive, uncommon, chiefly American); James, Jamie (diminutive, chiefly British), Jaime/Jaimie (diminutive, uncommon, chiefly American, and by way of Spanish), Jim (diminutive), Jimmy/Jimmi/Jimi (diminutive); Jacqueline/Jaqueline (feminized, by way of French), Jacqui/Jaqui (feminized diminutive), Jackie (feminized diminutive, chiefly American), Jacki (feminized diminutive), Jamie (feminized, chiefly American), Jamey/Jami (feminized)
• Finnish: Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko
• French: Jacques, Jacob, Jacquot, Jacot, Jaco, Jack (diminutive), Jacky (diminutive), Jacq (diminutive), Jacquy(diminutive), Jame, Gemmes (Normandy), Gemme (Normandy), Jacomo; Jacqueline (feminized)
• Korean: 야고보 (romaja: Yagobo)
• Galician: Xaime, Iago, Diego, Xacobe
• German: Jakob, Jeckel (diminutive), Jaeckel (diminutive)
• Modern Greek: Ιάκωβος (Iakovos)
• Hawaiian: Kimo
• Hebrew: יעקב (Ya'aqov)
• Hungarian: Jakab
• Icelandic: Jakob
• Indonesian: Yakob, Yakobus
• Italian: Giacomo, Jacopo, Giacobbe, Lapo
• Irish: Séamas/Séumas, Shéamais (vocative, whence anglicized Hamish), Seamus (anglicized), Shamus (anglicized), Séimí (diminutive), Séimín (diminutive)
• Japanese: Most common:ジェームズ (romaji:Jēmuzu) Also: ジェイムス

(romaji:Jeimusu) and ジェムス (romaji:Jemusu)

• Latin: Iacobus, Iacomus (vulgarized)
• Malayalam: യാക്കോബ്‌ (Yacob), ചാക്കോ (Chacko)
• Manx: Jayms
• Norwegian: Jakob, Jeppe
• Occitan: Jammes, James
• Portuguese: Jacó, Jaime, Iago, Thiago, Tiago, Diogo, Diego
• Polish: Jakub, Kuba, Kubuś (diminutive)
• Provençal: Jacme
• Romanian: Iacob, Iacov
• Russian: Яков (Yakov), Яша (Yasha) (diminutive)
• Scottish Gaelic: Seumas, Sheumais (vocative), Hamish (anglicized)
• Serbian (Cyrillic/Latinic): Јаков/Jakov (Yakov); Јаша/Jaša (Yasha) (diminutive)
• Spanish: Jacobo, Iago, Yago, Santiago, Diego, Jaime
• Syriac: ܝܰܥܩܽܘܒ (Yaqub)
• Swedish: Jakob
• Tagalog: Jaime
• Turkish: Yakup
• Ukrainian: Яків (Yakiv)
• Welsh: Siam, Iago
• Yiddish: Yankel (diminutive), Koppel (diminutive)

More on [ James ]

NPR Topics: Authors

Writer Ethan Canin Tackles The American Dream
Tue, 26 Aug 2008 20:52:00 -0400
America America is an ambitious, old-fashioned novel about politics, power and class in a small, upstate New York town. The Nixon-era tale is Canin's sixth book.
Library Of America Honors Overshadowed Writer
Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:05:00 -0400
During 40 years as fiction editor of the New Yorker magazine, William Maxwell worked with luminaries like Vladimir Nabokov and John Cheever. His own writings were often overshadowed by his job — but now they've been reissued by the Library of America to mark the centennial of his birth. NPR's Jacki Lyden finds out more about the man and his words.
A Nation Divided In 'Nixonland'
Thu, 21 Aug 2008 17:14:00 -0400
Rick Perlstein's book, Nixonland, combines an evocative trip through the 1960s and early 1970s with an assessment of the impact of Richard Nixon's political career. Perstein argues that many of the deep political divisions in modern American politics were defined by that period, and exploited effectively by Nixon.
Europe On The Cheap? Voila: A Grand Literary Tour
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 14:47:00 -0400
A dollar won't buy you much in Europe these days. But three books set on the continent offer a full immersion in "la dolce vita" — at minimal cost.
Lincoln's Strategy To Turn Rivals Into Allies
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:52:00 -0400
After he won the presidency, Abraham Lincoln brought three of his rivals for the Republican nomination into his cabinet. Historian Doris Kearns Goodwin's book, Team of Rivals, recounts the life and work of our 16th president — and the principal characters of his administration.
The 'Religionization' Of The Oval Office
Wed, 20 Aug 2008 10:43:00 -0400
Scholar Randall Balmer explores the interplay between religion and American politics in his book, God in the White House. Balmer is a professor of religious history at Barnard College, and the editor-at-large for Christianity Today.

Subscribe to Authors RSS feed