This article is about the name James. For the band see James (band).
James is a common given name. It is the most popular name for a male in the United States, and during the 1990 U.S. Census, approximately 3.318% of males counted had the first name James. It is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, and literally means "grasps the heel" or "grasps the bottom".
Etymology
Came into English from the French variation Gemmes of the Late Latin Iacomus, dialect variant of Iacobus, from New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iacōbos), from Hebrew יעקב (Yaʻaqov). Cognates include Jacob.
Variant spellings
Female equivalents
Diminutives
Common nicknames for males named James are:
- Jim, Jay, Jamie, Jaimie, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jimi, Jamsey, Jame, Jameson, Jimbo, Jake, Jem, Jems, Jemmy, Jims, Jam, Jams, Jameth, Jamey
Translations
- Arabic: يعقوب (Yaʻqub)
- Armenian: Հակոբ (western Hagop, eastern Hakob)
- Azerbaijani: Yaqub
- Basque: Jakes
- Belarusian: Jakub
- Breton: Jagu
- Catalan: Jaim, Jaume, Xaume
- Chinese: 雅各 (pinyin: yǎgè), 詹姆士 (pinyin: zhānmǔshì), 詹姆斯 (pinyin: zhānmǔsī)
- Cornish: Jago, Jammes, Jamma
- Czech: Jakub, Jakoubek, Kubicek(diminutive), Kubes Kubes, Kuba (diminutive)
- Dutch: Jacobus, Jaap (diminutive), Cobus (diminutive), Coos (diminutive), Chime (diminutive)
- Finnish: Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko
- French: Jacques, Jame, Gemmes (Normandy), Gemme (Normandy), Jacomo
- Korean: 야고보 (romanja: Yagobo)
- Galician: Xaime
- German: Jakob, Jeckel (diminutive), Jaeckel (diminutive)
- Hawaiian: Kimo
- Italian: Giacomo, Iago
- Irish: Séamas, Shéamais (vocative), Seamus (anglicized), Shamus (anglicized), Séimí (diminutive),Séimín (diminutive)
- Japanese: ジェームズ (romaji:Jeemusu)
- Latin: Iacobus, Jacomus
- Malayalam: യാക്കോബ് (Yacob), ചാക്കോ (Chacko)
- Manx: Jayms
- Occitan: Jammes, James
- Portuguese: Diogo, Jaime, Jacó, Tiago
- Polish: Jakub
- Provençal: Jacme
- Romanian: Iacob, Iacov
- Russian: Яков (Yakov), Яша (Yasha) (diminutive)
- Scottish Gaelic: Seumas, Sheumais (vocative), Hamish (anglicized)
- Spanish: Santiago, Jaime, Diego, Yago, Jacobo
- Syriac: ܝܰܥܩܽܘܒ (Yaqub)
- Tagalog: Jaime
- Welsh: Siam, Iago
- Yiddish: Yankel (diminutive), Koppel (diminutive),
Famous persons with the given name James
Characters from the Bible
Kings of Scotland and/or England
- James I of Scotland (1394–1437), king of Scotland from 1406 until 1437 (from 1406 to 1424 he was king in name only)
- James II of Scotland (1430–1460) king of Scotland from 1437 to 1460
- James III of Scotland (1451/1452–1488), king of Scotland from 1460 to 1488
- James IV of Scotland (1473–1513) was king of Scotland from 1488 to 1513
- James V of Scotland (1512–1542) was king of Scotland from 1513 to 1542
- James I of England (James VI of Scotland) (1566–1625) was king of England, Scotland and Ireland, and was the first Sovereign to reign in the three realms simultaneously
- James II of England (James VII of Scotland) (1633–1701) was king of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1685 to 1701, and was the last Catholic monarch to reign over England, Scotland, or Ireland
Kings of Aragon
- James I of Aragon (1208–1276), surnamed the Conqueror, was the king of Aragon, count of Barcelona and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276
- James II of Aragon (1267–1327), called The Just (Catalan: El Just) was the second son of Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily
Presidents of the United States of America
Vice Presidents of the United States of America
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom
Musicians, bands
- James (band), a band from Manchester, England
- James Hetfield (1963-), co-founder, lead singer, main songwriter and rhythm guitarist for the band Metallica
- James LaBrie (1963-), Canadian vocalist of progressive metal band Dream Theater
- James Marshall Hendrix (1942-1970), American guitarist, singer, and songwriter
- James Douglas Morrison (1943-1971), singer, songwriter and poet of rock band The Doors
- James Patrick Page (1944-), guitarist for rock band Led Zeppelin
- James Shaffer (1970), Lead guitarist of rock band KoRn
- James Croy (1982), guitarist of Perth band Hope Here Gone
- James Paul McCartney (1942-), British vocalist, songwriter, and bass guitarist of The Beatles
Other
- James Boswell (1740-1795), a lawyer, diarist, and author born in Edinburgh, Scotland
- James Cook (1728–1779), a British explorer and navigator
- James Dean (1931–1955), an actor
- James Earl Jones(1932-), an actor
- James Earl Ray (1928–1998), the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, Jr.
- James Gandolfini, an actor who plays Tony Soprano on "The Sopranos"
- James King, a model and actress, also known as Jaime King
- James Morgan (1776-1856), a British architect and engineer.
Fictional characters
- James Bond, a fictional spy featured in novels and films
- James T. Kirk (2233-2294), a fictional sci-fi captain from Star Trek
- James and the Giant Peach orphan featured in the Roald Dahl story by the same name
- James Potter, father of Harry Potter
- James Bagadonuts-Mahoney, noted anime character and sophomore homecoming attendant runner-up. Noted scholars say he's an inspiration to us all, even the one's named Frank.
- Captain Hook, James Hook, pirate captain in Peter Pan
- James "Jamie" Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser, fictional character in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novel series.
- James Wilson, M.D., a fictional oncologist in FOX's TV series House
Famous persons with the family name James
- Jonathan James, convicted of hacking U.S. Government computer systems
- B. G. James, mayor of Newport News, Virginia from 1936 to 1940
- BG James (born 1970), wrestler
- Brian James, British punk musician, a former member of The Damned
- Etta James, American R&B and gospel singer
- Henry James (1843-1916), an American author and critic of the late 19th and early 20th century, known for novels and novellas based upon themes of consciousness
- Jesse James (1847-1882), American outlaw. With brother Frank, and Cole Younger were the James Gang
- LeBron James (1984-), an NBA basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers
- Letitia James, American lawyer, activist, and politician in Brooklyn
- Rick James (1948–2004), an African-American funk and soul musician, singer, keyboardist, bassist, record producer, arranger, and composer
- Walter James (1863–1943), premier of Western Australia from 1902 to 1904 and an ardent supporter of the federation movement.
- CLR James (1901-1989), Trinidadian essayist and historian of the Haitian Revolution
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