Acob
A masculine given name of Hebrew origin meaning "he will follow".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Acob. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Acob today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Acob births was 1983 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Acob. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Acob. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1983
5 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
1983 SSA rank
#6,244
Tracked since 1983
Popularity
Acob: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Acob by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Acob during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Acob
The given name Acob has its origins in the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East, dating back to around 2000 BCE. It is believed to be derived from the Hebrew word "aqab," meaning "to follow" or "to be at the heel." The name is closely related to the biblical figure Jacob, who was said to have been born holding onto the heel of his twin brother Esau.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Acob can be found in the Book of Genesis, where it is mentioned as the name given to the patriarch Jacob by his parents Isaac and Rebekah. In the biblical narrative, Jacob is portrayed as a central figure in the story of the Israelites, and his name carries significant symbolic weight.
Throughout history, the name Acob has been used across various cultures and regions, though it has been most commonly associated with the Jewish and Christian traditions. In the Middle Ages, the name was relatively popular among Jewish communities in Europe, with notable figures such as Acob ben Reuben (1268-1344), a renowned Spanish rabbi and scholar.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some prominence in Italy, with individuals like Acob Burckhardt (1518-1597), a celebrated Swiss historian and cultural critic, bearing the name. In the 17th century, the English philosopher and statesman Acob Boyle (1617-1687) was another well-known figure with this name.
In the 19th century, the name Acob was famously associated with Acob Grimm (1785-1863), one of the legendary Brothers Grimm, who were renowned for their collection of folk tales and their contributions to the study of linguistics. Another notable bearer of the name during this period was Acob Riis (1849-1914), a Danish-American journalist and social reformer who documented the living conditions of the poor in New York City.
As the name Acob has continued to be used across different cultures and time periods, it has taken on various spellings and variations, such as Jakob, Yakob, and Yaakov. However, the core essence of its meaning, rooted in the biblical figure of Jacob, has remained constant, making it a name with deep historical and cultural significance.
People
Acob + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Acob as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Acob: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Acob?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Acob going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Acob a common name?
We classify Acob as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Acob most popular?
The single biggest year for Acob was 1983, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Acob is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Acob in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Acob a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Acob in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Acob still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Acob in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Acob can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Acob?
You can see how many people have the name Acob on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.