Meanings
proper noun
- A male given name from Hebrew.
"Georgette. How are you called?" "Jacob." "That's a Flemish name." "American too." "You're not a Flamand?" "No, American." "Good, I detest Flamands." - - - Brett smiled at him. "I've promised to dance this with Jacob," she laughed. "You've a hell of a biblical name, Jake."
1927, Ernest Hemingway, chapter III, in The Sun Also Rises1 more example
Analysts and opinion polls had forecast losses for the ANC but a pivotal factor in the party’s staggering decline was former President Jacob Zuma and his newly formed uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party, which capitalized on widespread discontent within the ANC’s traditional voter base.
2024 June 5, Sarah Dean, David McKenzie, “Jacob Zuma has made a dramatic comeback in South Africa’s elections. Will he have the last laugh over Ramaphosa?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 28 Aug 2024- biblicalOne of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and twin brother of Esau; father of the Israelites (Jews and Samaritans) by 12 sons by 4 consorts, most famously Judah and Joseph who fathered Manasseh.
And the boyes grew; and Eſau was a cunning hunter, a man of the fielde: and Iacob was a plaine man, dwelling in tents.
1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 25:27, column 2 - MormonismThe fifth son of Lehi and one of the younger brothers of Nephi, author of one of the books in the Book of Mormon.
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounOne of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca, and twin brother of Esau; father of the Israelites (Jews and Samaritans) by 12 sons by 4 consorts, most famously Judah and Joseph who fathered Manasseh.
Also see
Origin
- Biblical Hebrewיַעֲקֹב
- Ancient GreekἸάκωβος
- Late LatinIācōbus
- Middle EnglishIacob
- EnglishJacob
From Middle English Iacob, from Late Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), 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 James, Yaakov, and Yakub.
More words from Middle English, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans Jakob, Jakob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakobmale given name (the standard form)
- Jacobusmale given name (the standard form)
- Jacomale given name (the standard form)
- Jakobusmale given name (the standard form)
- Jakomale given name (the standard form)
Ancient Greek Ἰακώβ
- Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Arabic يَعْقُوب, يَعْقُوب
- يَعْقُوب (yaʕqūb)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- يَعْقُوب (yaʕqūb)male given name (the standard form)
Bengali ইয়াকুব, ইয়াকুব
- ইয়াকুব (yaqub)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- ইয়াকুব (yaqub)male given name (the standard form)
Bulgarian Я́ков, Я́ков
- Я́ков (Jákov)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Я́ков (Jákov)male given name (the standard form)
Catalan Jaume
- Jaumemale given name (the standard form)
Chinese Cantonese 雅各
- 雅各 (ngaa⁵ gok³)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Chinese Mandarin 雅各, 雅各布
- 雅各 (Yǎgè)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- 雅各布 (Yǎgèbù)male given name (the standard form)
Czech Jákob, Jakub
- Jákobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakubmale given name (the standard form)
Danish Jakob, Jacob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jacobmale given name (the standard form)
Dutch Jakob, Jacob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jacobmale given name (the standard form)
- Jacobusmale given name (the standard form)
Estonian Jaakob, Jaak
- Jaakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jaakmale given name (the standard form)
Finnish Jaakob, Jaakko
- Jaakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jaakkomale given name (the standard form)
French Jacob, Jacob
- Jacobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jacobmale given name (the standard form)
- Jacquesmale given name (the standard form)
German Jakob, Jakob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakobmale given name (the standard form)
Greek Ιακώβ, Ιάκωβος
- Ιακώβ (Iakóv)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Ιάκωβος (Iákovos)male given name (the standard form)
- Ιακώβ (Iakóv)male given name (the standard form)
- Τζέικομπ (Tzéikomp)male given name (the standard form)
Hawaiian Iakoba, Iakopa
- Iakobaone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Iakopamale given name (the standard form)
Hebrew יַעֲקֹב
- יַעֲקֹב (ya'akov)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Hindi याक़ूब, जेकब
- याक़ूब (yāqūb)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- जेकब (jekab)male given name (the standard form)
Hungarian Jákob
- Jákobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Icelandic Jakob, Jakob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakobmale given name (the standard form)
Indonesian Yakub
- Yakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Irish Iacób, Séamus
- Iacóbone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Séamusmale given name (the standard form)
- Séamasmale given name (the standard form)
Italian Giacobbe, Giacobbe
- Giacobbeone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Giacobbemale given name (the standard form)
- Giacomomale given name (the standard form)
- Jacopomale given name (the standard form)
Japanese ヤコブ
- ヤコブ (Yakobu)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Korean 야곱
- 야곱 (yagop)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Latin Jacobus
- Jacobusone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Latvian Jēkabs, Jēkabs
- Jēkabsone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jēkabsmale given name (the standard form)
Malay Yaakub, Yakub
- Yaakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Yakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Yaakubmale given name (the standard form)
Māori Hākopa
- Hākopamale given name (the standard form)
Norwegian Jakob, Jakob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakobmale given name (the standard form)
Persian یعقوب, جاکوب
- یعقوب (ya'qub)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- جاکوب (jâkub)male given name (the standard form)
Polish Jakub, Jakub
- Jakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakubmale given name (the standard form)
Portuguese Jacó, Jaime
- Jacóone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jaimemale given name (the standard form)
- Tiagomale given name (the standard form)
Romanian Iacov, Iacob
- Iacovone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Iacobmale given name (the standard form)
Russian Иа́ков, Я́ков
- Иа́ков (Iákov)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Я́ков (Jákov)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Я́ков (Jákov)male given name (the standard form)
- Дже́йкоб (Džéjkob)male given name (the standard form)
- Иа́ков (Iákov)male given name (the standard form)
Scottish Gaelic Iàcob, Seumas
- Iàcobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Seumasmale given name (the standard form)
Slovak Jakub, Jakub
- Jakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakubmale given name (the standard form)
Spanish Jacob, Jacobo
- Jacobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jacobomale given name (the standard form)
- Yagomale given name (the standard form)
- Santiagomale given name (the standard form)
- Diegomale given name (the standard form)
Swahili Yaakub
- Yaakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Swedish Jakob, Jakob
- Jakobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Jakobmale given name (the standard form)
Thai ยาโคบ
- ยาโคบ (yaa-kôhp)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
Turkish Yakup, Yakub
- Yakupone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Yakubone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Yakupmale given name (the standard form)
Ukrainian Я́ків, Іаків
- Я́ків (Jákiv)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Іаків (Iakiv)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Я́ків (Jákiv)male given name (the standard form)
- Іáків (Iákiv)male given name (the standard form)
Vietnamese Giacôbê, Giacôbe
- Giacôbêone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Giacôbeone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Giacópone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Giacơone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Yacôbêone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Giacópmale given name (the standard form)
Welsh Jacob, Iago
- Jacobone of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- Iagomale given name (the standard form)
Yiddish יעקבֿ, יעקבֿ
- יעקבֿ (yakev)one of the sons of Isaac and Rebecca
- יעקבֿ (yakev)male given name (the standard form)
Cite this entry
APA
Jacob. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jacob
MLA
“Jacob.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jacob. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Jacob,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Jacob.
Source: Jacob on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.