In the book of Genesis, the twins Jacob and Esau were born to Isaac and Rebecca; Esau came first, making him the first-born son. When Jacob was born he was holding onto Esau’s heel. This foreshadows two future Biblical events where Jacob usurps or seizes Esau’s birthright as the first-born son. 

A decade ago, Jacob was an extraordinarily popular name: it sat in the number one spot for 13 years from 1999 to 2012. It slipped to spot number two in 2013 and then began to slowly drop down the charts. At the height of its popularity in 2012, nearly 1% of all male babies born that year were named Jacob. Jacob was ranked in 2020 as the thirteenth most popular name for boys in the U.S., proving it’s still a fan-favorite among parents looking for a strong but traditional boy name. However, the intense popularity of Jacob for more than 10 years has probably left some newer parents feeling oversaturated by the name and looking toward alternatives. Prior to 1999, the name enjoyed some popularity in the mid-1970s, when it moved from spot number 122 down to 87 on the popularity charts and kept advancing from there.

Name Variations 

There are many translations of the name Jacob in several other languages, including some stemming from its Hebrew origins.

Iacobus (Latin)Jaco (Portuguese)JacobyJacopo (Italian)Jago (Spanish/Cornish)JakobJakub (Polish)Kubo (Japanese)Yaakov (Hebrew)

Similar Names 

Other boy names from the Old Testament:

AaronAbrahamAdamDavidEphraimJesseMosesNoahSolomon

Other boy names starting with J:

Jackson James Jason Jonathan Jayden John Joseph Joshua Judah Julian Justin

Common Nicknames

Common nicknames for Jacob include:

Cubby: The last syllable sound of Jacob, “kub” can lend itself to the nickname Cubby. This would be super cute for a little boy, but it also wasn’t unusual to hear of men nicknamed Cubby in the 50s and 60s, so it could last a lifetime. Jack: This nickname is less common but definitely happens. Jack is a nice alternative to Jake if you want to shorten Jacob. It can also work if you like the name Jack but want to honor a family member named Jacob. Jake: Many children named Jacob will go by the nickname Jake. It’s short and sweet, but also carries a clear gravitas. Some parents even choose to legally name their child Jake, skipping Jacob entirely. Jay: You may not set out to call your Jacob by his first initial, but many parents end up there. Since Jay is a common nickname for other names, like John and James, it’s won’t seem unusual to choose it as a nickname for Jacob. Kobe/Kobi/Koby: This is more unusual, but some other languages, like Dutch, Swahili, and Polish, shorten the name to this kind of diminutive.

Suggested Sibling Names

Potential sibling names could include:

Abigail Alexandra Benjamin Daniel Elijah Ethan Grace Hannah Leah Lucas Rebekah Silas

Famous People Named Jacob 

Despite how popular the name Jacob is with Americans, there aren’t many famous people with the name or its common variations. However, there are a few.

Famous Jacobs:

Jacob Bernoulli, Swiss mathematicianJacob Elordi, Australian actor best known for Netflix’s The Kissing “Booth"Jacob Grimm, German folklorist who co-published “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” with his brother WilhelmJacob K. Javits, New York politicianJacob Carl Rosenthal, Polish-American chess master

Famous Jakes:

Jake Gyllenhaal, American actor best known for “Brokeback Mountain” and “Nightcrawler"Jake LaMotta, American professional boxerJake Owen, American country music artistJake Tapper, American journalist and CNN news correspondent 

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