James

James: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning: “supplanter”
Origin: Hebrew
Say it: JAYMZ · 1 syllable
Used for: Boys

English form of Late Latin Iacomus, from Jacob. James became established in English through biblical and royal use; Spanish Diego is not a direct form of James.

English names Hebrew names Classic names Biblical names Royal names

How popular is James?

20243,564 per million US babies

Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Compare with another name

Babies named James in 202411,861

2024 rank#5 boys

Peak year1880

Total US babies since 18805,262,396

James is steady now but far below its 1880 peak.

Names like James

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

Jaimesupplanter · Hebrew
Seamussupplanter · Irish
Jimsupplanter · Hebrew
Jacquessupplanter · French
Jaymesupplanter · Spanish
Jamisupplanter · Hebrew
Jaimiesupplanter · Hebrew
Jammiesupplanter · Hebrew

James questions

What does the name James mean?

James means "supplanter". It comes from Hebrew. English form of Late Latin Iacomus, from Jacob. James became established in English through biblical and royal use; Spanish Diego is not a direct form of James.

Is James a boy or girl name?

James is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is James?

11,861 US babies were named James in 2024. Its peak year was 1880.

How do you pronounce James?

James is usually pronounced JAYMZ.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.