Name Jacob - meaning, origin, numerology

Jacob is a common male first name and a less well-known surname. From 1999 through 2012, Jacob has been the most popular baby name for boys in United States. It is a cognate of James. Jacob is derived from Late Latin Iacobus, from Greek Ἰάκωβος Iakobos, from Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Yaʿqob, Yaʿaqov, Yaʿăqōḇ), the name of the Hebrew patriarch, Jacob son of Isaac and Rebecca. The name comes from the Hebrew root עקב ʿqb meaning "to follow, to be behind" but also "to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach", from the word for "heel", עֲקֵב ʿaqeb).

In the narrative of Genesis, it refers to the circumstances of Jacob's birth when he held on to the heel of his older twin brother Esau (Genesis 25:26). The name is etymologized (in direct speech by the character Esau) in Genesis 27:36, adding the significance of Jacob having "supplanted" his elder brother by stealing his birthright.

In a Christian context, Jacob – James as reduced English form – is the name for several people in the New Testament: (1) apostle James, son of Zebedee, (2) another apostle James, son of Alphaeus, and (3) James the Just, who led the original Messianic Community in Jerusalem.

Since Jacob is also venerated as a Prophet of Islam, his name is commonly used as a male first name in Arab and Muslim societies (Arabic Yakub, Turkish Yakup).

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English (and Dutch) form of the biblical Hebrew name Yaakov. This was borne by perhaps the most important of all the patriarchs in the Book of Genesis. Jacob was the father of twelve sons, who gave their names to the twelve tribes of Israel. He was the son of Isaac and Rebecca. According to the story in Genesis, he was the cunning younger twin, who persuaded his fractionally older brother Esau to part with his right to his inheritance in exchange for a bowl of soup (‘a mess of pottage’). Later, he tricked his blind and dying father into blessing him in place of Esau. The derivation of the name has been much discussed. It is traditionally explained as being derived from Hebrew akev heel and to have meant ‘heel grabber’, because when Jacob was born ‘his hand took hold of Esau’s heel' (Genesis 25: 26). This is interpreted later in the Bible as ‘supplanter’; Esau himself remarks, ‘Is he not rightly named Jacob? for he has supplanted me these two times’ (Genesis 27: 36).
As a given name, Jacob is especially common among Jews, although it has also been used by Christians. The usual Christian form James and its cognates in other languages arose from a Late Latin byform, Iacomus, of the Latin form Iacobus.
Cognates: Italian: Giacobbe. German, Scandinavian: Jakob. French: Jacques. Polish, Czech: Jakub. Russian: Yakov. Finnish: Jaako. Hebrew: Yakov. See also at James.
Pet forms: Dutch: Jaap, Cobus, Coos. Polish: Kuba. Yiddish: Koppel.

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