James Name Meaning
A name that has stood strong through the ages, men with the name of James have been a fixture on stage, screen and literature. Authors such as like Joyce, Baldwin and Jones have left their mark on the literary world with the first name of James. Actors like Dean, Caan, Franco and Garner have given us iconic roles and characters in a wide range of movies. The name has been a strong, constant monicker for artists and more for decades.
But the name has a richer history than only Hollywood. James is a modern descendant of Iacomus, the Latin form of the Hebrew name Jacob. Two of the twelve apostles in the Bible had the name of James. Kings of England, Scotland and Spain and six U.S. Presidents have all bore the name as well, giving it a regal flair as well as a religious one.
James has numerous shortened versions, giving parents a wide variety of nicknames for their boy, including Jimmy, Jim, Jamie or Jimbo. Different variations of the name include Jaime (Spanish), Jacob/Jakob (Danish, Icelandic, Polish), Yakov (Russian) and Iago (Portuguese).
For women, Jacqueline, Jacobina, Jamie and Jameson are all considered variants of James or Jacob.
Infographic of James name meaning, which is A perennial classic meaning the supplanter, James is an English form of Jacob.
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James Name Popularity
How popular is the name James? Here’s everything we know.
| Year |
Rank |
# Births |
% Births |
| 1910 |
2 |
9,192 |
2.6107% |
| 1911 |
3 |
9,951 |
2.6723% |
| 1912 |
3 |
17,644 |
3.4987% |
| 1913 |
3 |
20,831 |
3.6741% |
| 1914 |
3 |
26,263 |
3.7685% |
| 1915 |
3 |
33,776 |
3.7176% |
| 1916 |
3 |
35,569 |
3.6821% |
| 1917 |
3 |
37,339 |
3.7323% |
| 1918 |
3 |
42,119 |
3.9245% |
| 1919 |
3 |
42,392 |
4.0484% |
| 1920 |
4 |
47,909 |
4.3088% |
| 1921 |
4 |
49,749 |
4.3446% |
| 1922 |
4 |
49,803 |
4.4703% |
| 1923 |
4 |
50,465 |
4.5056% |
| 1924 |
4 |
52,944 |
4.5592% |
| 1925 |
4 |
52,681 |
4.6609% |
| 1926 |
3 |
53,205 |
4.8374% |
| 1927 |
3 |
53,675 |
4.849% |
| 1928 |
3 |
52,753 |
4.9303% |
| 1929 |
2 |
52,122 |
5.032% |
| 1930 |
2 |
53,944 |
5.1642% |
| 1931 |
2 |
51,213 |
5.1889% |
| 1932 |
2 |
51,920 |
5.2553% |
| 1933 |
2 |
51,106 |
5.4855% |
| 1934 |
2 |
54,243 |
5.6111% |
| 1935 |
2 |
55,000 |
5.6597% |
| 1936 |
2 |
54,684 |
5.6768% |
| 1937 |
2 |
56,549 |
5.7387% |
| 1938 |
2 |
59,096 |
5.7726% |
| 1939 |
2 |
59,628 |
5.862% |
| 1940 |
1 |
62,471 |
5.8774% |
| 1941 |
1 |
66,731 |
5.929% |
| 1942 |
1 |
77,173 |
6.1114% |
| 1943 |
1 |
80,258 |
6.1477% |
| 1944 |
1 |
76,947 |
6.2086% |
| 1945 |
1 |
74,450 |
6.1046% |
| 1946 |
1 |
87,431 |
5.9252% |
| 1947 |
1 |
94,756 |
5.6766% |
| 1948 |
1 |
88,588 |
5.5494% |
| 1949 |
1 |
86,855 |
5.3993% |
| 1950 |
1 |
86,239 |
5.3561% |
| 1951 |
1 |
87,272 |
5.1473% |
| 1952 |
1 |
87,107 |
4.9902% |
| 1953 |
2 |
86,009 |
4.8598% |
| 1954 |
3 |
86,288 |
4.7203% |
| 1955 |
3 |
84,157 |
4.5753% |
| 1956 |
2 |
84,837 |
4.4918% |
| 1957 |
2 |
84,270 |
4.3793% |
| 1958 |
3 |
78,709 |
4.1646% |
| 1959 |
3 |
78,601 |
4.137% |
| 1960 |
3 |
76,842 |
4.0556% |
| 1961 |
4 |
75,917 |
4.0212% |
| 1962 |
4 |
72,557 |
3.9522% |
| 1963 |
4 |
71,327 |
3.9736% |
| 1964 |
4 |
73,044 |
4.1497% |
| 1965 |
4 |
67,703 |
4.1401% |
| 1966 |
3 |
65,180 |
4.1747% |
| 1967 |
3 |
61,699 |
4.0657% |
| 1968 |
4 |
60,704 |
4.0427% |
| 1969 |
3 |
59,912 |
3.8889% |
| 1970 |
2 |
61,766 |
3.8812% |
| 1971 |
2 |
54,622 |
3.635% |
| 1972 |
3 |
47,083 |
3.4569% |
| 1973 |
4 |
42,888 |
3.3082% |
| 1974 |
5 |
41,353 |
3.1816% |
| 1975 |
4 |
39,592 |
3.081% |
| 1976 |
5 |
38,306 |
2.9721% |
| 1977 |
5 |
40,054 |
2.9715% |
| 1978 |
5 |
39,914 |
2.9688% |
| 1979 |
5 |
39,370 |
2.7921% |
| 1980 |
5 |
39,325 |
2.6896% |
| 1981 |
7 |
38,307 |
2.606% |
| 1982 |
6 |
38,872 |
2.6013% |
| 1983 |
6 |
36,353 |
2.4635% |
| 1984 |
7 |
35,846 |
2.4097% |
| 1985 |
7 |
35,854 |
2.3622% |
| 1986 |
7 |
34,034 |
2.2547% |
| 1987 |
8 |
32,636 |
2.1386% |
| 1988 |
9 |
32,503 |
2.0857% |
| 1989 |
9 |
32,698 |
2.0263% |
| 1990 |
8 |
32,347 |
1.9516% |
| 1991 |
7 |
30,504 |
1.8715% |
| 1992 |
9 |
28,503 |
1.7857% |
| 1993 |
14 |
26,249 |
1.6837% |
| 1994 |
14 |
24,768 |
1.6139% |
| 1995 |
17 |
22,731 |
1.5082% |
| 1996 |
17 |
21,155 |
1.4129% |
| 1997 |
17 |
20,402 |
1.3794% |
| 1998 |
18 |
19,686 |
1.3153% |
| 1999 |
19 |
18,551 |
1.2388% |
| 2000 |
18 |
17,981 |
1.1771% |
| 2001 |
19 |
17,070 |
1.1329% |
| 2002 |
18 |
16,957 |
1.1316% |
| 2003 |
18 |
16,891 |
1.1103% |
| 2004 |
17 |
16,460 |
1.0799% |
| 2005 |
17 |
16,133 |
1.0552% |
| 2006 |
16 |
16,235 |
1.0368% |
| 2007 |
15 |
15,957 |
1.0114% |
| 2008 |
17 |
15,171 |
0.9816% |
| 2009 |
18 |
14,206 |
0.9505% |
| 2010 |
19 |
13,877 |
0.963% |
| 2011 |
17 |
13,247 |
0.9298% |
| 2012 |
14 |
13,418 |
0.9416% |
| 2013 |
13 |
13,552 |
0.9518% |
| 2014 |
9 |
14,420 |
0.9897% |
| 2015 |
7 |
14,799 |
1.0171% |
| 2016 |
5 |
14,842 |
1.0294% |
| 2017 |
4 |
14,232 |
1.0197% |
| 2018 |
4 |
13,525 |
0.9844% |
| 2019 |
6 |
13,087 |
0.9667% |
| 2020 |
6 |
12,042 |
0.9461% |
| 2021 |
5 |
12,367 |
1.0117% |
| 2022 |
5 |
11,792 |
0.8938% |
District of Columbia (DC)
Data via SSA.gov.
Names Like James
If you like James, you’ll love these other names like James.
What names are diminutives of James?
A diminutive is a name that’s like James sounds, you might also like these names that sound like James, but shorter.
| Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
|
Jaime
|
A Spanish form of James and Jacob.
|
Spanish
|
|
|
|
Jamesie
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jamie
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jamsey
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jayme
|
He who supplants
|
Spanish
|
|
|
|
Jem
|
A variant diminutive form of James.
|
English
|
|
|
|
Jim
|
A diminutive form of James.
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jimmie
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jimmy
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
What names are variants of James?
Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name James.
| Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
|
Diego
|
Saint James
|
Spanish
|
|
|
|
Giacomo
|
An Italian form of Jacob and James.
|
Italian
|
|
|
|
Hamish
|
Supplanter
|
Scottish
|
|
|
|
Iago
|
A Spanish form of Jacob and James.
|
Welsh
|
|
|
|
Jacob
|
Supplanter
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jacques
|
A French form of James and Jacob.
|
French
|
|
|
|
Jago
|
A Spanish form of James and Jacob.
|
English
|
|
|
|
Jameson
|
Son of James
|
English
|
|
|
|
Jamison
|
He who supplants; son of James
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Jascha
|
A Russian form of Jacob and James.
|
Slavic
|
|
|
|
Jaymes
|
He who supplants
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Santiago
|
Saint James
|
Spanish
|
|
|
|
Seamus
|
Supplanter
|
Irish
|
|
|
|
Shamus
|
A variant form of James.
|
Irish
|
|
|
What names sound like James?
If you like how James sounds, you might also like these names that sound like James.
| Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
|
Aimes
|
Friend
|
French
|
|
|
|
Ames
|
Friend
|
French
|
|
|
|
Aymes
|
Friend
|
French
|
|
|
|
Eames
|
Wealthy protector
|
Irish
|
|
|
|
Jadan
|
|
|
|
|
|
Jaden
|
Thankful one
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
What names are similar to James?
Find a name that’s like James, but just a little bit different.
| Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
|
Andrew
|
Manly and powerful
|
Greek
|
|
|
|
Christopher
|
Bearing Christ
|
English
|
|
|
|
Henry
|
Home ruler
|
English
|
|
|
|
Jack
|
God is gracious
|
English
|
|
|
|
John
|
God is gracious
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Joshua
|
God is salvation
|
Hebrew
|
|
|
|
Liam
|
Helmet of will
|
Irish
|
|
|
|
Wesley
|
Western meadow
|
English
|
|
|
|
William
|
A willing protector
|
German
|
|
|
|
Wyatt
|
Brave in battle
|
English
|
|
|
Lists With James
Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name James.
Siblings of James
Mamas with kids named James also have kids with these names.
| Name |
Meaning |
Origin |
Popularity |
Other Gender |
|
Alice
|
Of nobility
|
German
|
|
|
|
Caroline
|
Free woman
|
French
|
|
|
|
Morgan
|
Circling sea
|
Welsh
|
|
|
