Given name & surname
Jacoba
“she who supplants”·“heel grabber”
Jacoba is a feminine form of Jacob, traditionally interpreted as “she who supplants.” Its wider name family also carries the biblical heel-grasping story.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Jacoba’s feminine interpretation is “she who supplants.” Through Jacob, it also belongs to a family traditionally explained as “heel grabber,” after the birth story in Genesis. The family’s original linguistic derivation remains debated.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
How it developed
Jacoba is used as a feminine counterpart of Jacob. Jacoba is a feminine form of Jacob. The shared background comes through Jacob: The link with Hebrew akev, “heel,” comes from Genesis 25:26: Jacob is born holding his older twin Esau’s heel. In Genesis 27:36, Esau connects the name with being supplanted after Jacob gains his birthright and their father’s blessing. These episodes explain the traditional meanings; they do not settle how the name first arose.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Jacoba is a feminine form of Jacob. The history of Jacob gives this family its wider story. In Genesis, Jacob is the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of twelve sons associated with the twelve tribes of Israel. His name has a long history in Jewish and Christian communities. The related name James developed through a different Late Latin form, Iacomus, eventually becoming distinct from Jacob in English.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Jacoba through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 296
- 0 boys · 296 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 17 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
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- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 17 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 780 as a first name in 2020; 119 as a surname in 2010.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jacoba’s family of names
In Dutch usage, Jacoba has a diminutive in Co. Jacoba is a feminine form of Jacob. In Dutch usage, Jacoba has a conventional equivalent in the German form Jacqueline.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 19
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Jacoba
- Cobie SmuldersCanadian actress and model (born 1982)
- Jacoba van HeemskerckDutch painter (1876-1923)
- Jacoba Stelmagymnast (1907–1987)
- Coosje van BruggenDutch and American sculptor and painter (1942–2009)
- Jakobea of BadenMargravine of Baden by birth, Duchess of Jülich-Cleves-Berg by marriage (1558-1597)
- Jacoba Maria van Nickelenpainter from the Northern Netherlands (1690-1749)
- Jacoba SurieDutch painter and etcher (1879–1970)
- Jacoba MajofskiDutch actress (1807–1847)
- Cobie SikkensDutch swimmerborn 1946
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Jacoba, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Mima
“our little dove” · “dove”
>99% girls
Japhia
“illustrious” · “may he cause to shine forth”
19% boys · 81% girls
Debbora
“bee”
>99% girls
Jezaniah
“Yah harkens”
8% boys · 92% girls
Jechiliah
“Yah is able” · “Yah prevails”
>99% girls
Anah
“answer” · “task”
>99% girls
Jerioth
“tent curtains”
10% boys · 90% girls
Ahasbai
“i flee to the Lord” · “or let me hide”
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