Given name & surname
Jacobo
“heel grabber”·“supplanter”
Jacobo is a Spanish form of the biblical name shared with Jacob and James. Its traditional interpretations, “heel grabber” and “supplanter,” connect it with the story of Jacob and Esau.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Within its biblical name family, Jacobo shares the traditional interpretations “heel grabber” and “supplanter”—someone who takes another’s place. These meanings reflect the Genesis story, while the name’s original linguistic derivation remains debated.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
As a Spanish given name, Jacobo comes through Latin Iacobus and Greek forms from the biblical Hebrew name Yaakov.
How it developed
Spanish Jacobo developed through Latin Iacobus and Greek Iakobos from Hebrew Yaakov. The traditional heel explanation draws on Hebrew akev and Genesis 25:26, where Jacob is born holding Esau’s heel. In Genesis 27:36, Esau connects the name with being supplanted after Jacob gains his birthright and their father’s blessing.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Jacobo’s broader name-family history includes the biblical patriarch Jacob, the son of Isaac and Rebecca and the father of twelve sons associated with the twelve tribes of Israel.
Explained through its name family
Jacobo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,486
- 3,486 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 109 babies
- 2025
- 77
- #1,982 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +11%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 77 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,982 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,854 as a first name in 2020; 11,399 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Jacobo’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Jacobo shares an earlier linguistic root with Yago. In Spanish usage, Jacobo has a conventional equivalent in the English form James. Jacobo has a related form in Jacob.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jacobo has relatives in 41 languages.
45 related names in 41 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 55
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- JamesEnglish
- Santiagoequivalent
- Diegoequivalent
- Yakovequivalent
- JakobGerman, Swedish
- JacquesFrench
- GiacomoItalian
- Jimequivalent
Show 47 moreShow fewer
- JakubCzech, Polish
- Yagodoublet · Spanish
- YakubTurkish
- JacobusLatin
- IagoWelsh
- Yaacovequivalent
- Jacoequivalent
- Yacobequivalent
- JacopoItalian
- GiacobbeItalian
- JakabHungarian
- SeumasScottish Gaelic
- YakobEwe
- JagoCornish
- Jaumeequivalent
- Jokūbasequivalent
- يعقوبequivalent
- Jacóalso known as · Portuguese
- Iacobusequivalent
- Jaccoequivalent
- ЯківUkrainian
- YakupTurkish
- JáhkotNorthern Sami
- ЯковRussian
- ИаковRussian
- ĠakobMaltese
- JēkabsLatvian
- IacopoItalian
- SéamasIrish
- SéamusIrish
- יעקבHebrew
- IakopoHawaiian
- IakopaHawaiian
- IakobaHawaiian
- ΙακώβGreek
- XacobeGalician
- JapikWest Frisian
- JaakobFinnish, Estonian
- JaakkoFinnish
- JákupFaroese
- JakesBasque
- JaakEstonian
- 야고보Korean
- 雅各Mandarin
- JakezBreton
- ՀակոբArmenian
- Ἰάκωβοςroot · Ancient Greek
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jacobo
- Jacobo RamónSpanish footballer (born 2005)
- Jacobo SanzSpanish footballerborn 1983
- Jacobo MajlutaPresident of the Dominican Republic (1934–1996)
- Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart, 17th Duke of AlbaSpanish noble (1878–1953)
- Jacobo ZabludovskyMexican journalist (1928–2015)
- Jacobo TimermanArgentine journalist (1923–1999)
- Jacobo YnclánSpanish footballerborn 1984
- Jacobo BolbochánArgenitne chess player (1906-1984)
- Jacobo GonzálezSpanish association football playerborn 1997
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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