James
Where James comes from
The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iācōmus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ, literally “May He Heel”), from the third-person singular masculine imperfective form of the Semitic verb "to heel" (with various meanings), in turn from עָקֵב (ʿāqēḇ, “heel of the foot”). Doublet of Jacques, Jacob, Iago, Jago, Yago, Hamish, Seamus, Tiago, Santiago, and Yaakov. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a modification of the earlier name Duke of York's Island after its eponymous duke's coronation as James II of England. See Occitan Jacme for an intermediary between Old French James and Catalan Jaume.
- 1 syllable
Along the way
- 1728James Cook bornBritish explorer, cartographer and naval officer
- 1880First SSA yearAlready #3 among boys — 5,927 babies in the first year on record.
- 1882James Joyce bornIrish novelist and poet
- 1947Peak, #194,767 babies named James — more than any year before or since.
- 1972The fadeThe first year with half the peak's births — down to #3.
In the dictionary
- A male given name from Hebrew popular since the Middle Ages. Also a common middle name.
Namesakes
- James Joyce · Irish novelist and poet, 1882–1941
- James Cook · British explorer, cartographer and naval officer, 1728–1779
- James Madison · President of the United States from 1809 to 1817, 1751–1836
- James Clerk Maxwell · Scottish physicist, 1831–1879
- James Watt · British engineer, 1736–1819
Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.