Given name & surname
Yaqub
“he who supplants”·“heel grabber”·“supplanter”
Yaqub is a form of 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.
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Arabic use, Yaqub carries the interpretation “he who supplants.” Yaqub is a form of 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.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
Yaqub is used as a form of Jacob. Yaqub is a 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 2000. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Yaqub is a 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
Yaqub through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 642
- 642 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 51 babies
- 2025
- 39
- #3,124 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +9%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 39 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,124 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 51 in 2019. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 443 as a first name in 2020; 391 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.
Yaqub’s family of names
In Azerbaijani usage, Yaqub shares a linguistic root with Жакып. Yaqub is a form of Jacob. In Azerbaijani usage, Yaqub has a conventional equivalent in the English form Jacob.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Yaqub has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
4 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
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 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
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