Yaacov
A masculine Hebrew name meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows".
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Yaacov. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yaacov today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yaacov births was 2000 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yaacov. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Yaacov with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
2000
10 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,136
Tracked since 1979
Census
Yaacov in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 309 people with the first name Yaacov, which placed it at #28,877 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,877
National first-name rank
People counted
309
309 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
93.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Yaacov
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaacov is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Yaacov described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Yaacov at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.9% · 290
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 12
- Black or African American1.0% · 3
- Two or more races1.0% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Yaacov: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yaacov 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 47 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
Yaacov 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 Yaacov during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yaacovs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yaacov
The name Yaacov is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Jacob. The name is rooted in the ancient Hebrew language, with its earliest known appearance dating back to the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. The name Yaacov translates to "he who follows" or "supplanter," reflecting the biblical story of Jacob's birth, where he was born holding onto his twin brother Esau's heel.
One of the most prominent figures in the Hebrew Bible, Jacob, later renamed Israel, was the patriarch of the Israelites and the progenitor of the twelve tribes of Israel. The name Yaacov gained significant religious and cultural significance within the Jewish tradition, as it represented an important figure in their history and faith.
In the biblical narrative, Jacob is depicted as a complex character who wrestles with both divine and human challenges. His life is marked by pivotal moments, such as his dream of a ladder reaching to heaven, his encounter with an angel, and his reconciliation with his brother Esau. These stories have deeply resonated within the Jewish tradition and have contributed to the enduring popularity of the name Yaacov.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Yaacov. One of the earliest recorded examples is Yaacov ben Asher, a renowned Masoretic scholar and grammarian who lived in the 10th century CE. His work on preserving and standardizing the Hebrew text of the Bible was instrumental in ensuring the accurate transmission of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Another prominent figure was Yaacov ben Meir, better known as Rabbenu Tam, a renowned Talmudic scholar and liturgical poet who lived in the 12th century CE. His contributions to the study and interpretation of Jewish law and tradition had a lasting impact on the development of Rabbinic Judaism.
In the 16th century, Yaacov Pollak, a renowned printer and publisher, played a significant role in disseminating Jewish literature and promoting Hebrew printing in Europe. His publications were instrumental in preserving and spreading Jewish knowledge and culture during a time of widespread persecution.
The name Yaacov has also been carried by notable figures in more recent history, such as Yaacov Agam, an Israeli sculptor and pioneer of the kinetic art movement, born in 1928. His innovative works, which incorporate movement and viewer participation, have earned him international acclaim and recognition.
Yaacov Neeman, an Israeli jurist and legal scholar born in 1944, served as the Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance in the Israeli government. His contributions to the legal system and his efforts to promote human rights and democratic values have left a lasting legacy.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Yaacov, each leaving their mark in various fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human experience and achievement.
People
Yaacov + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yaacov as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yaacov: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yaacov?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yaacov 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Yaacov a common name?
We classify Yaacov as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 127 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yaacov most popular?
The single biggest year for Yaacov was 2000, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yaacov is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Yaacov in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 309 people with the name Yaacov, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,877 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Yaacov in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Yaacov?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Yaacov appears almost entirely male. Of the 304 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Yaacov?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Yaacov is White at 93.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Black (1.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Yaacov most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Yaacov in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (290 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Yaacov in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yaacov a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yaacov 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 Yaacov still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yaacov 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 Yaacov 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.
How many Americans are named Yaacov?
See how many people share the name Yaacov on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.