Jacob is a common male
first name and a less well-known
surname. From 1999 through 2012, Jacob has been the most popular baby name for boys in the United States. It is a
cognate of
James. Jacob is derived from Late Latin
Iacobus, from Greek
Iakobos, from
Hebrew (
Yaʿqob,
Yaʿaqov,
Yaʿăqōḇ), the name of the Hebrew patriarch,
Jacob son of
Isaac and
Rebecca. The name comes either from the Hebrew root
ʿqb meaning "to follow, to be behind" but also "to supplant, circumvent, assail, overreach", or from the word for "heel",
ʿaqeb.