James is a modern descendant of theHebrew nameYa'akov (original Hebrew:יַעֲקֹב), in English:Jacob.[3] The Hebrew name went successively through theLatin formIacobus, its derivativeVulgar Latin versionIacomus (cf. ItalianGiacomo, PortugueseTiago orThiago (in ancient spelling although still used as a first name), and SpanishIago, Santiago), and finally theOld FrenchJames.[3] The final-s in the English first names is typical of those borrowed from Old French, where it was the former masculinesubject case (cf.Jules,Miles,Charles, etc.).[citation needed]
James is transliterated as גֵ׳יימס/גִ׳ימי/גִ׳ים/ (James/Jimmy/Jim from English).
The Spanish name Jaime for James is pronounced in Spanish like the Israeli pronunciation of חיים (Haim or Chaim pronounced Kha-yim and meaning life). Diminutives of Chaim are:
Polish:Jakub, Kuba (diminutive), Kubuś (diminutive endearing)
Portuguese: Jacó (O.T. form), Jacob, Jaime, Iago, Tiago (contracted form used in theN.T.), Thiago and Thyago (variant used in Brazil), Diogo, Diego, Santiago, Jaqueline (fem.)
Yiddish: יעקב (Yankev/Yankiff), קאפעל/קופפל (Kappel/Koppel), יענקל/יענקלה (Yankel/Yankelleh), יענקי (Yankee), יאקאב (Yakab - from Romanian Iacob), and the Gentile name not associated with Jacob: דזשעיימס (James)
James is one of the most common male names in the English-speaking world. In the United States, James was one of the five most common given names for male babies for most of the 20th century. Its popularity peaked during theBaby Boom (Census records 1940–1960), when it was the most popular name for baby boys. Its popularity has declined considerably over the past 30 years, but it still remains one of the 20 most common names for boys.[4]
InNorthern Ireland, the name has appeared among the 10 most popular for the last quarter of the 20th century and into the 21st.[5] In 2013, James was the eighthmost popular name for boys in Australia.[6]
James is the second most common first name for living individuals in the United States, belonging to roughly 3.4 million people in the United States as of 2021, according to theSocial Security Administration.[7]
In 2022, in the United States, the name James was given to 12,028 boys, ranking it as the fourth most popular name.[8]
In 2022, it was the 11th most popular name given to boys in Canada.[9]
^"Name James: Wolfram Alpha". Wolfram Alpha. January 1, 2021. Archived from the original on February 9, 2023. RetrievedSeptember 12, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
