# James (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/james/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “may he heel”, “to heel”, “heel of the foot” |
| Pronunciation | /d͡ʒeɪmz/, 1 syllable |
| Nicknames | Jim, Jimmy, Jas, Jay, Jazz, Jamie, Jimbo, Jimmi, Jimi, Jaz, Jemmy, Jily |
| Variant spellings | Jaime, Jimmer, Jemma, Jeames, Jaymes |
| US babies named this | 5,274,520 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 5,250,638 / 23,882 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 143,095, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iācōmus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ, literally “May He Heel”), from the third-person singular masculine imperfective form of the Semitic verb "to heel" (with various meanings), in turn from עָקֵב (ʿāqēḇ, “heel of the foot”). Doublet of Jacques, Jacob, Iago, Jago, Yago, Hamish, Seamus, Tiago, Santiago, and Yaakov. In reference to the Ecuadorian island, a modification of the earlier name Duke of York's Island after its eponymous duke's coronation as James II of England. See Occitan Jacme for an intermediary between Old French James and Catalan Jaume.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 30 | 4,733 |
| 2012 | 28 | 5,021 |
| 2013 | 28 | 4,945 |
| 2014 | 42 | 3,680 |
| 2015 | 39 | 3,879 |
| 2016 | 67 | 2,629 |
| 2017 | 77 | 2,368 |
| 2018 | 45 | 3,459 |
| 2019 | 68 | 2,576 |
| 2020 | 66 | 2,583 |
| 2021 | 68 | 2,569 |
| 2022 | 85 | 2,217 |
| 2023 | 79 | 2,325 |
| 2024 | 68 | 2,594 |
| 2025 | 59 | 2,873 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13,275 | 17 |
| 2012 | 13,458 | 14 |
| 2013 | 13,596 | 13 |
| 2014 | 14,464 | 9 |
| 2015 | 14,865 | 7 |
| 2016 | 14,920 | 5 |
| 2017 | 14,362 | 4 |
| 2018 | 13,650 | 4 |
| 2019 | 13,198 | 6 |
| 2020 | 12,390 | 6 |
| 2021 | 12,474 | 5 |
| 2022 | 12,119 | 4 |
| 2023 | 11,739 | 4 |
| 2024 | 11,856 | 5 |
| 2025 | 11,945 | 6 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2020 | 3 | 5,493 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 4,945 | 8 |
| 2012 | 4,495 | 10 |
| 2013 | 4,236 | 9 |
| 2014 | 4,167 | 9 |
| 2015 | 3,912 | 11 |
| 2016 | 3,580 | 12 |
| 2017 | 2,925 | 17 |
| 2018 | 2,536 | 21 |
| 2019 | 2,336 | 22 |
| 2020 | 1,977 | 24 |
| 2021 | 1,772 | 30 |
| 2022 | 1,534 | 34 |
| 2023 | 1,430 | 35 |
| 2024 | 1,252 | 40 |
| 2025 | 1,211 | 42 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: جَايْمْز, جَيْمْس
- Armenian: Հակոբ
- Bulgarian: Яков
- Catalan: Jaume, Xaume
- Chinese: 詹姆斯
- Czech: Jakub
- Danish: Jakob
- Dutch: Jacob, Jacobus
- Esperanto: Jakobo
- Estonian: Jaak
- Finnish: Jaakko
- French: Jacques
- Georgian: იაკობი, ჯეიმზ
- German: Jakob
- Greek: Ιάκωβος, Ιακώβ, Τζέιμς
- Hebrew: ג׳יימס
- Hindi: जेम्स
- Hungarian: Jakab
- Icelandic: Jakob
- Irish: Séamas, Séamus

## People named James

- James Cook, British explorer, cartographer and naval officer (1728–1779)
- James Watt, British engineer (1736–1819)
- James Prescott Joule, English physicist and brewer (1818–1889)
- James Dean, American actor (1931–1955)
- James Watson, American molecular biologist, geneticist, zoologist and Nobel Laureate (1928–2025)
- James Brown, American musician (1933–2006)
- James Chadwick, English physicist (1891-1974), who discovered the neutron in 1932
- James Stewart, American actor and military officer (1908–1997)
- James Gandolfini, American actor (1961–2013)
- James Fenimore Cooper, American writer (1789–1851)
- James Callaghan, former prime minister of the United Kingdom (1912–2005)
- James Cagney, American actor and dancer (1899–1986)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.