Given name & surname
Jacques
“he who supplants”·“heel grabber”·“supplanter”
In French use, Jacques has a related form in Jacob. Traditional interpretations include “heel grabber” and “supplanter”—someone who takes another’s place. Both come from the biblical narrative, while the name’s original linguistic derivation remains debated. Jacques is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James.
Original FrenchJacob
Meaning & origin
What it means
In French use, Jacques carries the interpretation “he who supplants.” In French use, Jacques has a related form in Jacob. Traditional interpretations include “heel grabber” and “supplanter”—someone who takes another’s place. Both come from the biblical narrative, while the name’s original linguistic derivation remains debated. Jacques is a form of James. James is traditionally associated with “he who supplants” through its connection with Jacob. The explanation belongs to the biblical Jacob story, rather than describing a separate meaning created by the English spelling James.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
How it developed
In French use, Jacques is used as a form of JAMEs. In French use, Jacques is used as a form of Jacob. In French use, Jacques has a related form in 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. Jacques is a form of James. The shared background comes through James: The route to James passes through Late Latin Iacomus, a variant of the Latin form of Jacob. This different Latin development helps explain how James and Jacob could become distinct English names while retaining the same older origin.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1888. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In French use, Jacques has a related form in 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. Jacques is a form of James. The history of James gives this family its wider story. James was borne by two New Testament disciples: James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. James later became a recurring Scottish royal name: James VI of Scotland took the English throne in 1603. After James II lost that throne in 1688, his family’s supporters became known as Jacobites, drawing on the Latin form of James.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Jacques through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,977
- 9,734 boys · 243 girls
- Most popular year
- 1990
- 180 babies
- 2025
- 80
- #1,938 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −12%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 80 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,938 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 11.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 170 in 1969. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 11,599 as a first name in 2020; 14,333 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.
Jacques’s family of names
In English usage, Jacques has a diminutive in Jacqueline. Jacques shares a linguistic root with Jacob. Jacques is a form of James.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Jacques has relatives in 9 languages. Lines run from its French roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 17
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 48
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Jamettefeminine form · French
- Jamesdoublet · English
- Santiagoequivalent
- Thiagoequivalent
- Diegoequivalent
- JaimeSpanish
- Yakovequivalent
- Seamusequivalent
Show 40 moreShow fewer
- JakobGerman
- JacoboSpanish
- GiacomoItalian
- Jimequivalent
- JakubCzech
- Yagodoublet · English
- Yakubequivalent
- Jacobusequivalent
- Iagodoublet · English
- Jacopoequivalent
- Jakabequivalent
- Jagodoublet · English
- Yaacovequivalent
- Jacoequivalent
- Yacobequivalent
- Yakivequivalent
- Jaumeequivalent
- יעקבequivalent
- Jakezequivalent
- Giacôbêequivalent
- Jokūbasequivalent
- Jakesequivalent
- يعقوبequivalent
- Jaakkoequivalent
- Jacóequivalent
- Yakupequivalent
- Djåkecognate · Walloon
- Xhakderivative · Albanian
- Zhakderivative · Albanian
- JakobusGerman
- Яковequivalent
- Iacobusequivalent
- Jiminyequivalent
- Jakueequivalent
- Chaimeequivalent
- Jockelequivalent
- Séamusequivalent
- Jaccoequivalent
- Iacopoequivalent
- Ἰάκωβοςroot · Ancient Greek
See also 5
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Jacques
- Anatole FranceFrench writer (1844–1924)
- Jacques CartierBreton maritime explorer of North America (1491–1557)1492–1557
- Jacques ChiracPresident of France from 1995 to 20071932–2019
- Jacques OffenbachGerman-born French composer (1819–1880)
- Jacques CousteauFrench naval officer, oceanographer, filmmaker and author (1910-1997)
- Jacques DerridaFrench philosopher (1930–2004)
- Jacques LacanFrench psychoanalyst and writer (1901–1981)
- Jacques PrévertFrench poet and screenwriter (1900-1977)
- Jacques BrelBelgian singer (1929–1978)
Characters named Jacques: Inspector Clouseau (Pink Panther), Swordsman (Marvel Comics), Vautrin (Honoré de Balzac character), Jacques Paganel (character created by Jules Verne).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Jacques, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Efrain
“one who is tertile; productive” · “fruitful”
>99% boys
Jakom
“he who supplants”
—
Jakome
“he who supplants”
>99% boys
Jeames
“he who supplants”
>99% boys
Jaemes
“he who supplants”
>99% boys
Enrique
“the ruler of the estate”
>99% boys
Lathan
“a gift from God” · “he has given”
>99% boys
Jaem
“he who supplants”
91% boys · 9% girls