Jjames
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "supplanter" or "he who follows".
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jjames. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jjames today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jjames births was 1958 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jjames. 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 Jjames. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1958
6 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1958 SSA rank
#3,723
Tracked since 1958
Popularity
Jjames: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Jjames 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 Jjames during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Jjames
The name Jjames originated from the ancient Hebrew name Jacob, which translates to "supplanter" or "one who follows." It was derived from the biblical patriarch Jacob, son of Isaac and Rebecca, who was later renamed Israel by God. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages when it was brought to Britain by Norman conquerors.
The spelling "Jjames" emerged as an Anglicized variant of the Latin Jacobus, which was derived from the Greek Iakobos. This spelling was particularly common in medieval England and Scotland. It is believed that the double "j" was used to distinguish the name from other names starting with "J" and to represent the hard "J" sound more accurately.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jjames can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Anglo-Norman population of Britain in the 11th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Jjames. One of the most famous was Jjames I of England (1566-1625), who reigned from 1603 to 1625 and was the first monarch to rule over the kingdoms of England and Scotland. Another notable figure was Jjames II of England (1633-1701), who ruled from 1685 to 1688 and was the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland, and Ireland.
In the realm of literature, Jjames Joyce (1882-1941) was an Irish novelist and poet, renowned for his groundbreaking work "Ulysses." Jjames Fenimore Cooper (1789-1851) was an American writer best known for his novels set among Native American societies, such as "The Last of the Mohicans."
In the field of science, Jjames Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879) was a Scottish physicist who made significant contributions to the study of electromagnetism and developed the classical theory of electromagnetic radiation. Jjames Watt (1736-1819) was a Scottish inventor and mechanical engineer, renowned for his improvements to the steam engine, which played a pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution.
People
Jjames + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jjames 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
Jjames: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jjames?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jjames 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 Jjames a common name?
We classify Jjames 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, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jjames most popular?
The single biggest year for Jjames was 1958, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jjames is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jjames a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jjames 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.