Name of the Week: James

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Having been in the top 10 (with the exception of only two decades)
for the last 500 years, James is arguably
Britain's most successful and consistent boys name.

 

Origin:

James is essentially an anglicised form of the Hebrew Ya'aqov, a name which appears frequently in the bible and was, by the 1st century BC, one of the the most popular Jewish names.  There is some debate about the etymology of Yaaqov (Jacob). The meaning put forward by Genesis is "hand on the heal," referring to the fact that he was born holding his brother's heel. If so, it would relate to the Hebrew yad "hand" and aqeb "heel." By extension, aqeb is thought to mean also "supplanter" in reference to Jacob supplanting his brother in their father's affections. Another theory is that the Hebrew Yaaqov represents an older Babylonian name meaning "the God rewards."*  In Greek, Ya'aqov became Iakobos (Ιακωβος) which was then transliterated into Latin as Iacobus (Jacobus) and, in Late Latin, Iacomus (Jacomus).  Jacobus became Iago in Spanish, Jacques in French and Jacob in English, while Jacomus became Jaime in Spanish and James in Old French and English. When the King James Bible (1611) translated the Latin bible into English, Jacob (Jacobus) was used in the Old Testament and James (Jacomus) in the New Testament for figures such as  James the Just, brother of Jesus, considered the author of the Epistle of James; James the Great, apostle, brother of John the Apostle, and James, son of Alphaeus, an apostle.

Usage:

James has been in use in Britain from at least the 12th century. It was often Latinised as Jacobus, indicating that James was the favoured rendering of Jacobus/Jacomus into English. Jacob, on the other hand, was a common name among Jews.  The use of James rather than Jacob in the Middle Ages may have been due to the cult of St James the Great, one of the twelve apostles who became the patron saint of Spain and whose cult was focused at Compostela in Galicia-- one of the most important pilgramage centres in medieval Christendom. The earliest recorded pilgramage from England to Compostela is in 1148 and by the end of that century instances of the name James appear in British records -- a Jam' de Sancto Hylario is mentioned in a Northamptonshire charter of 1173-6, and James, son of Lambin is mentioned in the Loudoun Charters in Scotland (1162-1190) for example. Of the 440 churches named "St James" in England, 414 are dedicated to St James the Great (St James of Compostela). The Spanish Jaime, therefore, may have been more influential in Britain than Jacob and its variants thanks to the saint's popular cult. In The Shipman's Tale (late 14th century) Chaucer makes reference to "Seint Jame" in Galicia, while the Ancren Wisse (c.1225) mentions "Seint Iame," clearly showing a link between the Spanish Jaime and English James.  The instances of both Jacobus and Jacoba in Latin records suggests that James was used as a unisex name in the Middle Ages, much like Philip (for Philip and Philippa) and Christian (for Christian and Christiana). There is mention of Jacoba Emelden (d.1333), daughter of Richard Emelden, after her marriage as "Sir Alan and James, his wife," and the Calendar of Inquisitions (1339) mentions that her godfather Lawrence de Dunelm recalled her baptism as something wonderful to him "because he called the said Jacoba by a man's name."* The vernacular form of James in the Middle ages was Jem (Jemme, Jimme, and Gemma) which can be found in records for both men and women. The Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1286 mentions Jimme, wife of Robert Feysant, while Gemme, brother of Gilbert is listed in the Assize Rolls of Lancashire in 1251. Jem also led to the diminutive Jemot, Jemett. All these led to the surnames James, Jaymes, Jameson, Jamieson, Gem, Gemson, Gimson, Jemmett, Jemnett, Jemson and Jimpson.  It is also interesting to note that James was pronounced with two syllables during the Middle Ages.  In terms of popularity, James was used in moderate use from the 12th to 14th century. In a poll of 1000 names from ten different English counties in 1377-81, Redmonds calculates that James was #22 (between Laurence and Edmund) making it "infrequent." It caught on quicker in Scotland, where it was borne by several Scottish Kings. The first King James was born in 1394 and from him was a continual succession of King James in Scotland up until King James V (1512–1542). His grandson, James VI (1567–1625) then became James I of England. The Scots Gaelic form of James is Seumas, by which King James I and his successors were known in Scotland, and was anglicised as Hamish. Many Scottish Jameses were called Jamie or Jaikie familiarly, while Jim(my) became the favoured petform in England.  It would be easy to assume the crowning of King James I (already James VI of Scotland) in 1603 boosted the name in England, however, James had already caught on in England by then as well, no doubt thanks to the cult of the saint.  This is shown by Smith Bannister rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1670 in England which shows how consistently popular the name was for nearly two centuries:  1538-49: #10; 1550-9: #10; 1560-9: #10; 1570-9: #9; 1580-9: #9; 1590-9: #9; 1600-9: #9; 1610-9: #8; 1620-9: #7; 1630-9: #9; 1640-9: #7; 1650-9: #6; 1660-9: #6; 1670-9: #7; 1680-9: #6; 1690-1700: #7. The crowing of King James I seems to have little impact on the name, as it was already popular, however the name took on a greater meaning after 1688 when James II was deposed. The Stuart supporters of James and his heirs, known as the Jacobites, incurred a series of uprisings (fourty-five in all!) from 1688 and 1746. Their strongholds were situated in the Scottish Highlands, Northern England and Ireland, and it was common for Jacobites to name their sons James.  James's popularity was maintained for the following centuries. Dunkling ranks it at #5 in 1700 and #4 in 1800 in England and Wales. Roll on a few decades and it was #5 in 1870, 1880, 1890 and 1900. The 1881 UK census lists over 110,000 men named James, spread across Britain. When we look at the figures per 100,000 people in each county, James was notably popular in the Scottish Highlands.  click to enlarge In the 20th century, James was consistently in the top 10 most popular names in England and Wales, with the exception of 1954 and 1964 when it moved down a little into the top 20. No other name has managed this consistency. Even the perennial favourite William, was out of the top 20 from the 1960s to the 1990s. Since 1996, James has decreased slightly in usage, but still maintained it's top 10 status.   Even more successfully, in Scotland, James was #2 in both 1900 and 1950 and #4 in 1975. Since 2000, James has consistantly been in the top 5 most popular names in both Scotland and Northern Ireland. In 2013, James ranked #2 in Scotland, #2 in Northern Ireland and #9 in England and Wales.

Famous Bearers:

History: * 23 blessed, 20 saints including: St James the Great St James the Just James the Less James the Deacon * 7 Kings of Scotland (and the United Kingdom) * 5 British Prime Ministers. * 6 American presidents. * James I "Jaime the Conqueror" (1208-1276), king of Aragon. * James II "Jaime the Just" (1267-1327), king of Aragon. * Captain James Cook (1728-1779), a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. * James Grant (1899–1918), World War I flying ace. * James Stewart (1908-1997), American actor. * James Merrill (1926–95) American poet. * James Dean (1931–55), American actor. Contemporary: * James Garner (1928-2014), American actor. * James Franco (b.1978), American actor. * James McAvoy (b.1979), Scottish actor. Literature and Other Media: * James Bond, the eponymous hero of the James Bond franchise, created by Ian Fleming. * James "Jay" Gatsby, the main character from The Great Gatsby. * James Potter, the name of the father and son of Harry Potter in the Harry Potter franchise, created by J.K. Rowling. See more here.

Variants:

Jaymes (English), Jaimie (Spanish), Jacques (French), Seuman, Hamish (Scottish), Jago (Cornish)

Pronunciation:

JAYMZ [key]

Possible diminutives:

Jamie, Jim, Jimmy, Jay, Jaikie, Jem, Jemmy, Jazz

Sibling Names:

Charlotte     Lucy     Amelia     Kate      Grace     Emily  William     Matthew     Daniel     Luke    Thomas    Alexander

Name Lists:

Slim Softies   Medieval Favourites   Terrifically Tudor   Gorgeously Georgian   British Royalty   Shakespearean Names   Dickensian Names   Austen Names   Bronte Names   Tennyson Names   Golden Ages Hollywood   Names of Roses   Disney Names

 

If you like James you may also like:   Amos, Owen, George, Jude, Samuel, Hamish, Ewan, Jonas, Benjamin, Adam

 

Thanks to Monia for requesting this post.