Jaecob
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "supplanter" or "holding the heel".
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the first name Jaecob. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jaecob today is around 18 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jaecob births was 1999 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jaecob. 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
139
~ 1 in 2,465,859 Americans
Peak year
1999
8 babies that year
Average age
18
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,896
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Jaecob: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jaecob from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 58 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jaecob 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 Jaecob during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jaecob
The given name Jaecob is a variant spelling of the more common name Jacob, which has its origins in the Hebrew language. The name is derived from the Biblical figure Jacob, who was a patriarch in the Book of Genesis and is considered one of the most important figures in the Abrahamic religions.
The Hebrew name Ya'aqov (יַעֲקֹב) is derived from the verb root עקב ('aqav), meaning "to follow", "to be behind", or "to supplant". The name has been interpreted to mean "one who follows" or "supplanter", referring to the story in Genesis where Jacob was born holding on to the heel of his twin brother Esau.
The name Jacob appears numerous times in the Hebrew Bible, particularly in the Book of Genesis, where Jacob is portrayed as the son of Isaac and Rebekah, the grandson of Abraham, and the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. He is also known for his night-long wrestling match with an angel of God, after which he was given the additional name Israel (יִשְׂרָאֵל), meaning "one who struggles with God".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jacob is in the ancient Hebrew text known as the Book of Genesis, which is believed to have been written between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE. The name has also been found in ancient inscriptions and texts from the Middle East, attesting to its long history and cultural significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jacob or its variants, including:
1. Jacob, the Biblical patriarch (born around 1900 BCE).
2. Jacob ben Asher, a medieval German-Jewish rabbi and codifier of Jewish law (c. 1270 - c. 1340 CE).
3. Jacob Böhme, a German Christian mystic and philosopher (1575 - 1624 CE).
4. Jacob Jordaens, a Flemish Baroque painter (1593 - 1678 CE).
5. Jacob Grimm, a German philologist, jurist, and one of the Brothers Grimm (1785 - 1863 CE).
The name Jaecob, with its unique spelling, is likely a modern variant or creative spelling of the more traditional Jacob. While it may have been adopted for personal or cultural reasons, it ultimately traces its roots back to the ancient Hebrew name and its rich historical and religious significance.
People
Jaecob + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jaecob 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
Jaecob: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jaecob?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 139 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jaecob 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 2,465,859 US residents.
Is Jaecob a common name?
We classify Jaecob as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 141 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jaecob most popular?
The single biggest year for Jaecob was 1999, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jaecob is about 18 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 Jaecob in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jaecob a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jaecob 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 Jaecob still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jaecob 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 Jaecob 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 Americans are named Jaecob?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.