James
James was the 6th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 11,945 babies. Its best year was 1940, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1947 (94,767). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1 places. More babies were named James in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Meaning English form of Jacob · Hebrew
Say it JAYMZ /ˈdʒeɪmz/
- Rank in 2025
- #6 boys, unchanged since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 11,945boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 194794,767 babies
- Total since 1880
- 5,274,520babies recorded
What does the name James mean?
James is the English New Testament form of Jacob. It comes from Late Latin Iacomus, a spoken variant of Iacobus, which in turn comes through Greek from Hebrew Yaʿaqov. Genesis links that name with the Hebrew word for 'heel'. DMNES notes that James grew out of Iacomus in the British Isles and was pronounced with two syllables in the Middle Ages. Two apostles are called James.
יַעֲקֹב (Biblical Hebrew, “Yaʿaqov (Jacob)”)עָקֵב (Biblical Hebrew, “heel”)
How sure is this? Well established.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Jacob'
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 25.26, JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition, with translator's note (via Sefaria)
- Hebrew Bible, Genesis 27.36, JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition, with translator's note (via Sefaria)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (names.zip, yob*.txt), team3 computation
- Wikidata item Q677191
- Wiktionary, entry 'James'
Nicknames for James
The usual nicknames for James are Jamie, Jimmy, Jim and Jem. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named James in the last five years, 4 were named Jamie, against 3 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jamie · also for Jameson, Jamison | Traditional | #577 | 2,328 |
| Jimmy · also for Jim | Traditional | #847 | 1,536 |
| Jim | Traditional | #3,159 | 159 |
| Jem · also for Jeremy | Traditional | — | — |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Jamess go by each one.
James popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 23,882 since 1880, 59 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #6 | 11,945 |
| 2020 | #6 | 12,390 |
| 2010 | #19 | 13,901 |
| 2000 | #18 | 17,991 |
| 1990 | #8 | 32,359 |
| 1980 | #5 | 39,312 |
| 1970 | #2 | 61,735 |
| 1960 | #3 | 76,815 |
| 1950 | #1 | 86,228 |
| 1940 | #1 | 62,481 |
| 1930 | #2 | 53,957 |
| 1920 | #4 | 47,908 |
| 1910 | #2 | 9,194 |
| 1900 | #3 | 7,245 |
| 1890 | #3 | 5,097 |
| 1880 | #3 | 5,927 |
How popular is James, counting every spelling?
James is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #9 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #6 for James on its own. Together these spellings went to 11,951 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| James | 11,945 | #6 | 60,133 |
| Jamez | 6 | #11,230 | 44 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name James?
11,945 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named James (3.31 per 1,000 births). For a boy named James born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is about 1 in 16. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, a typical elementary school of 430 pupils would have about 1.4 children named James.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named James?
About 2,864,300 people born in the US named James are alive today, with a median age of 58; half are between 40 and 71. That makes James a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
James by state
How common James was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (2.5×), Wyoming (2.5×), Alaska (2.1×), Mississippi (2.0×), New Hampshire (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Texas, Arizona.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with James: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like James, they share its era and feel.
Questions about the name James
What does James mean?
James means “English form of Jacob” (Hebrew origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name James?
James was the 6th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 11,945 babies. Its best year was 1940, when it ranked 1st; the most babies were born in 1947 (94,767). Over the last ten years it has moved up 1 places. More babies were named James in the 1950s than in any other decade.
Is James a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name James in the US.
Where is James most popular?
In 2021–2025, James was most common in District of Columbia (17.48 per 1,000 boys), followed by Wyoming and Alaska.