Yacqub
A masculine Arabic name meaning "supplanter" or "holding the heel".
Name Census estimates that about 60 living Americans carry the first name Yacqub. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Yacqub today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yacqub births was 2015 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yacqub. 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 Yacqub with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Yacqub. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
60
~ 1 in 5,712,572 Americans
Peak year
2015
8 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2017 SSA rank
#10,721
Tracked since 2003
Popularity
Yacqub: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yacqub from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 38 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yacqub 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 Yacqub during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yacqubs live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yacqub
The name Yacqub is derived from the Arabic name Ya'qub, which is the Arabic form of the Hebrew name Jacob. It has roots in the ancient Semitic languages of the Middle East, and is believed to have originated in the region of modern-day Israel and surrounding areas.
The name Yacqub is found in the religious scriptures of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In the Old Testament of the Bible, Jacob was one of the patriarchs and the son of Isaac and Rebecca. He was also the father of the twelve tribes of Israel. In the Quran, Jacob is referred to as Ya'qub and is regarded as a prophet.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Yacqub can be found in the Book of Genesis, which is believed to have been written between the 15th and 13th centuries BCE. The name is also mentioned in other ancient texts, such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Talmud.
Throughout history, there have been several notable figures named Yacqub. One of the most famous was Yacqub ibn Killis (c. 930-991 CE), a renowned philosopher and scientist from Baghdad who made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy.
Another notable figure was Yacqub ibn Laith al-Saffar (840-879 CE), the founder of the Saffarid dynasty, which ruled parts of modern-day Iran and Afghanistan. He was a military leader who played a crucial role in the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate.
In the 12th century, there was Yacqub al-Mansur (1160-1199 CE), the third Sultan of the Almohad Caliphate in present-day Morocco and parts of Spain. He was known for his military campaigns and for consolidating the Almohad Empire.
Another notable figure was Yacqub ibn Yusuf al-Masmudi (d. 957 CE), a renowned Arab geographer and historian from Morocco. He authored several works, including the "Meadows of Gold and Mines of Gems," which provided valuable insights into the history and geography of the Islamic world.
In the field of literature, one can mention Yacqub Sanu (1917-1987), a renowned Azerbaijani writer and poet who made significant contributions to the development of Azerbaijani literature and culture.
People
Yacqub + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yacqub 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
Yacqub: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yacqub?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 60 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yacqub 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 5,712,572 US residents.
Is Yacqub a common name?
We classify Yacqub as "Very Rare". It ranks above 57.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 61 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yacqub most popular?
The single biggest year for Yacqub was 2015, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yacqub is about 15 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 Yacqub in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Yacqub a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yacqub 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 Yacqub still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Yacqub 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 Yacqub 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 common is the name Yacqub?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Yacqub at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.