PerfectNameFinder

Search by name or by meaning — try peace, brave or sea. Press Enter to see every match.

Your shortlist

Tap the heart on any name to keep it here. Your shortlist stays in this browser, ready when you are.

Start with Name Swipe

Given name & surname · also Late Latin

James

“supplanter”·“heel grabber”

James has the unusual distinction of being both a separate English classic and a close linguistic relative of Jacob. Its history runs from two New Testament disciples to Scottish kings and the political cause named for their descendants.

Original LatinIacobus

Find names like James

Meaning & origin

What it means

Through its shared Hebrew origin with Jacob, James is traditionally associated with “supplanter” and “heel grabber.” These are interpretations from the biblical Jacob story; the name’s earliest linguistic derivation remains debated.

Combines direct and name-family evidence

Where it comes from

James is the English and Scottish form of a name sharing the Hebrew ancestor Yaakov with Jacob. English developed a lasting distinction between the two; that separation is not universal across languages.

How it developed

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.

The story

The name was borne by two New Testament disciples: James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. It 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.

In the Bible

In the Bible, the name James appears in Acts 12:17, 1 Corinthians 15:7, Galatians 1:19 and 19 other passages.

  • Acts 12:17
  • 1 Corinthians 15:7
  • Galatians 1:19
  • Acts 12:2
  • Acts 1:13
  • Acts 12:12
  • Matthew 4:21
  • Mark 1:19
  • Luke 5:10
  • Matthew 10:2
  • Mark 3:17
  • Mark 9:2
  • Luke 8:51
  • Matthew 10:3
  • Mark 3:18
  • Luke 6:15
  • Luke 6:16
  • Matthew 27:56
  • Mark 16:1
  • Luke 24:10
  • Mark 15:47
  • Mark 15:40

From biblical name research

James through the years

Babies since 1880
5,274,520
5,250,638 boys · 23,882 girls
Most popular year
1947
95,024 babies
2025
12,004
#6 for boys · #2,873 for girls
2021–25 vs 2016–20
−12%
Easing
020K40K60K18801900192019401960198020002025Highest share 19446,993
James in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1880–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

Where it’s given

Most at home inWyoming, Alaska, Vermont
FewerMore, relative to births Not published
2025 births by state of birth. Tiles are equal-sized so small states stay visible. Highest rates: Wyoming (25), Alaska (39), Vermont (21), District of Columbia (37), Mississippi (160).

By the numbers

In 2025, this name appeared in 11,945 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 6 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 12.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 94,767 in 1947. It also appeared in 59 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (1,057). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,996,421 as a first name in 2020; 243,502 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.

James’s family of names

In English usage, James has a diminutive in Jamie. In English usage, James shares an earlier linguistic root with Jacob. In English usage, James has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Jaime.

Walk James’s family in the name graph

JamesGemesIameIamesΤζαίημςΤζέημςジェームスJackJamieDiegoJayJakeJimmyJimJimmieJaymeIamJazzJaymesJemJemmyJacobSantiagoThiagoJamesonJaimeJemmaYakovJakobJacquesJakubGiacomoYaqubSemisiShamusYakubHemiJacobusTimiJaquesHagopJaymzYacobJacopoSeumas

Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Around the world

James has relatives in 56 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.

TonganHawaiianGreenlandicGalicianEnglishAfrikaansChineseCebuanoHebrew

88 related names in 56 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.

Each dot marks where a language is rooted, not where people with the name live today. Bigger dots hold more names. Dots on the border stand for languages further away. Language locations from Glottolog (CC BY 4.0); map from Natural Earth.

Nicknames & forms 37

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Show 29 moreShow fewer

Spellings & scripts 6

The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.

Across languages 105

Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.

Show 52 moreShow fewer

And 45 more.

See also 3

Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.

People named James

Characters named James: James Bond (secret agent, invented by novellist Ian Fleming), James T. Kirk (Star Trek), Commissioner Gordon (the DC Universe), Captain Hook (fictional pirate).

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Appears in

Similar names

If you love James, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Hebrew · Norse

John

“God is gracious”

89Very commonEasing

>99% boys

Hebrew · Royal

David

“Beloved” · “darling”

87Very commonEasing

>99% boys

Hebrew · Timeless

Joseph

“God shall add”

88Very commonEasing

>99% boys

Latin · Timeless

Paul

“small” · “a small or humble man”

68FamiliarEasing

>99% boys

Greek · Timeless

Peter

“as solid and strong as a rock”

73CommonSteady

>99% boys

Aramaic · Victorian era

Thomas

“twin”

87Very commonSteady

>99% boys

Hebrew · Literary

Jesse

“gift” · “God exists; a gift from God; God sees all”

74CommonSteady

97% boys · 3% girls

Hebrew · Biblical

Michael

“who is like God?”

89Very commonEasing

>99% boys

Sibling ideas

Names that share James’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for James

A sister for James