Jacobe
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter" or "holding the heel".
Name Census estimates that about 1,267 living Americans carry the first name Jacobe. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jacobe today is around 24 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jacobe births was 2007 (59 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jacobe. 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.
People living today
1.3K
~ 1 in 270,524 Americans
Peak year
2007
59 babies that year
Average age
24
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,569
Tracked since 1974
Popularity
Jacobe: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jacobe from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 505 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jacobe 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 Jacobe during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jacobes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, Georgia, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Jacobe, while Michigan, North Carolina, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jacobe
The name Jacobe has its origins in the Hebrew language and is derived from the Biblical name Jacob, which means "supplanter" or "one who follows behind." The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in Western Europe, where it was adapted to various linguistic and cultural contexts.
Jacobe is a variant spelling of the name Jacob, which was widespread across different regions. In medieval France, the name was often spelled as "Jacobe" or "Jaccobe," while in Spain and Italy, it was rendered as "Jacobo" and "Giacobbe," respectively. These regional variations reflect the linguistic diversity and cultural influences of the time.
The name Jacob has a rich biblical history, as it was borne by the patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebekah, in the Book of Genesis. Jacob's story, including his struggle with the angel and his subsequent name change to Israel, has been a source of inspiration and symbolic meaning for generations.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Jacobe can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem, "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland), where it appears as a character name. Another notable figure was Jacobe de Voragine (c. 1230-1298), an Italian chronicler and Archbishop of Genoa, who authored the influential collection of hagiographies known as the "Golden Legend."
In the 14th century, Jacobe de Douai (c. 1290-1349) was a prominent French philosopher and theologian who played a significant role in the intellectual debates of his time. Additionally, Jacobe Sprenger (c. 1435-1495) was a Dominican friar and author of the infamous witch-hunting manual, "Malleus Maleficarum" (The Hammer of Witches).
Jacobe van Artevelde (c. 1290-1345), a Flemish statesman and leader of the Ghent uprising against the Count of Flanders, was another notable figure who bore the name Jacobe. His son, Jacobe van Artevelde the Younger (c. 1335-1345), also played a pivotal role in the Flemish revolts.
Throughout history, the name Jacobe has been subject to various spellings and cultural adaptations, reflecting the diverse linguistic and religious landscapes in which it was used. While its popularity has waxed and waned over the centuries, the name continues to carry the resonance of its biblical origins and historical significance.
People
Jacobe + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jacobe as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jacobe: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jacobe?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,267 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jacobe 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 270,524 US residents.
Is Jacobe a common name?
We classify Jacobe as "Rare". It ranks above 91.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,292 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jacobe most popular?
The single biggest year for Jacobe was 2007, when 59 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jacobe is about 24 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jacobe a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jacobe 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.
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.