Every Boy Name

Boy's name

James

Say it JAYMZ 1 syllable

Hebrew · “possibly holding the heel”

Loved in the Netherlands, Ireland, and Northern Ireland. Common across England and Wales, Canada, Scotland, and 5 more places. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 13 more places.

1 in 61 boys born in Northern Ireland in 2025. Number 3 there.

James in every place

Rank, count and share in all 40 places: loved in 3, common in 11, rare in 16.
James in every place we hold figures for
Place Rankyear Boysshare 5 years earlier
British Isles
England and Wales42 (down)20251,2111 in 225242020
Scotland14 (down)20251991 in 9932020
Northern Ireland3 (down)20251351 in 6112020
Ireland4 (down)20253591 in 6622020
North America
Ontario (province)11 (down)2024426about 1 in 141102019
Quebec (province)192025299about 1 in 97192020
British Columbia (province)14 (down)202394about 1 in 13892018
Nova Scotia (province)14 (up)202521182020
Oceania
New South Wales (state)15 (down)2025252112020
Victoria (state)30 (down)2025181162020
Queensland (state)17 (up)2025172212020
South Australia (state)24 (down)20254792020
New Zealand132025138132020
Western Europe
France162 (up)20253651 in 8291792020
Netherlands6 (up)2025652about 1 in 102102020
Central Europe
Austria305 (down)2025181 in 2,1152752020
Switzerland101 (up)2025691 in 5221452020
Berlin (city)161 (up)202322about 1 in 7051992018
Munich (city)204 (up)20256about 1 in 7282592020
Cologne (city)418 (down)20232about 1 in 3,1891672018
Bonn (city)256 (down)20252about 1 in 1,5852422020
Leipzig (city)389 (up)20251about 1 in 2,8764032020
Rostock (city)Rare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
Nordic countries
Norway347 (down)202591 in 2,5872962020
Sweden209 (down)202545about 1 in 9581682020
DenmarkNot in the published top 502025Not listed2020
FinlandNot in the published top 502025No list2020
IcelandNot in the published top 102025No list2020
Southern Europe
SpainNot in the published top 1002024Not listed2019
Catalonia (region)640 (new in the list)202541 in 5,176Not listed2020
Italy272 (new in the list)2024501 in 3,787Not listed2019
Central and Eastern Europe
Poland330 (down)2025101 in 12,6403252020
HungaryNot in the published top 1002025Not listed2020
SloveniaRare: below the complete list2025Not listed2020
EstoniaNot in the published top 272025Not listed2020
Moscow (city)Not in the published top 612025Not listed2020
CroatiaNot in the published top 502025No list2020
Middle East
TurkeyNot in the published top 302025Not listed2020
IsraelRare: below the complete list2024Not listed2019
Latin America
ArgentinaNot in the published top 202024Not listed2019

Germany publishes no national list; the German rows are city registers. About: the publisher leaves out its smallest names, so the share is approximate. ▲ and ▼ compare the rank with five years earlier. Not listed five years earlier: not in that year’s list. No list: the place published no list that year. How these figures are computed.

About the name

In the English New Testament, James is the form given to Jacob. The route runs from Hebrew through Greek Iákōbos and the Latin Iācōbus, which in spoken Latin became Iācōmus and then James in French and English. The Hebrew name is linked to the word for 'heel', and the meaning is given as possibly 'holding the heel'. Among the apostles, it was borne by two.

2 more paragraphs

It is a single syllable, JAYMZ, and sounds dependable. Its family includes Jacob, Hamish, Seamus, Iago, Tiago, Santiago and Jacques, with Jay and Jem among the short forms.

James ranks highly in Northern Ireland, Ireland and the Netherlands, and stays popular in Ontario. In Canadian records its heyday was the 1940s, and it is now falling in more places than it is rising, yet it remains a steady classic.

Meaning, origin and how to say it

Say it
JAYMZ · 1 syllable
Meaning
“possibly holding the heel” (hedged in the source)
Origin
Hebrew
Related names
Jacob, Iago, Hamish, Seamus, Tiago, Santiago, Yaakov, Jameson, Jaime, Jake, Jamie, Jim, Jacopo, Jakob, Jakub, Jaume, Jacques, Jago, Yago, Jay, Jem, Jemmy, Jimbo, Jimmi, Jimmie, Jimmy, Séamas, Seumas
Where James comes from (Wiktionary)

The English New Testament form of Jacob, from Middle English James, from Old French James, from Vulgar Latin Iācōmus, spoken and altered pronunciation of Latin Iācōbus, from Ancient Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Ἰακώβ (Iakṓb), from Biblical Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (yaʿăqōḇ, literally “May He Heel”), from the third-person singular masculine imperfective form of the Semitic verb "to heel".

Shortened from the Wiktionary entry for James. Text available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

James over time

Rising in 2 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 8. Peak in Ontario and British Columbia: 1942.

Rank in England and Wales, 1996 to 2025

James in England and Wales: #4 in 1996, a peak of #2 in 1997, and #42 in 2025.

#1#10#50#100#300200020052010201520202025Top 101996: #4, 9,385 boys1997: #2, 9,853 boys1998: #3, 9,197 boys1999: #3, 8,748 boys2000: #3, 7,489 boys2001: #4, 7,026 boys2002: #4, 6,377 boys2003: #4, 6,305 boys2004: #4, 6,135 boys2005: #4, 5,654 boys2006: #6, 5,411 boys2007: #9, 5,136 boys2008: #9, 5,170 boys2009: #9, 4,544 boys2010: #10, 4,351 boys2011: #8, 4,945 boys2012: #10, 4,495 boys2013: #9, 4,236 boys2014: #9, 4,167 boys2015: #11, 3,912 boys2016: #12, 3,580 boys2017: #17, 2,925 boys2018: #21, 2,536 boys2019: #22, 2,336 boys2020: #24, 1,977 boys2021: #30, 1,772 boys2022: #34, 1,534 boys2023: #35, 1,430 boys2024: #40, 1,252 boys2025: #42, 1,211 boys#4 in 1996peak #2, 1997#42in 2025
Show the numbers
YearRankBoys
199649,385
199729,853
199839,197
199938,748
200037,489
200147,026
200246,377
200346,305
200446,135
200545,654
200665,411
200795,136
200895,170
200994,544
2010104,351
201184,945
2012104,495
201394,236
201494,167
2015113,912
2016123,580
2017172,925
2018212,536
2019222,336
2020241,977
2021301,772
2022341,534
2023351,430
2024401,252
2025421,211

Source: Office for National Statistics (OGL v3)

The long view: in Ontario and British Columbia

Half of the boys named James in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1961. Peak: 1942, about 4,782 per 100,000 boys. Babies per 100,000 boys, five-year periods.

1925-1929: 4,024.2 per 100,000 boys1930-1934: 4,300.9 per 100,000 boys1935-1939: 4,453.8 per 100,000 boys1940-1944: 4,606 per 100,000 boys19401945-1949: 4,320.4 per 100,000 boys1950-1954: 3,762 per 100,000 boys1955-1959: 3,232.3 per 100,000 boys1960-1964: 2,976.6 per 100,000 boys19601965-1969: 2,816.4 per 100,000 boys1970-1974: 2,372.9 per 100,000 boys1975-1979: 2,197.7 per 100,000 boys1980-1984: 1,982 per 100,000 boys19801985-1989: 1,701.5 per 100,000 boys1990-1994: 1,412.4 per 100,000 boys1995-1999: 1,027.8 per 100,000 boys2000-2004: 880.7 per 100,000 boys20002005-2009: 852.4 per 100,000 boys2010-2014: 872.5 per 100,000 boys2015-2019: 948.2 per 100,000 boys2020-2024: 764.7 per 100,000 boys20201940-1944: about 1 in 22 boys
Show the numbers
YearsPer 100,000 boys
1925–19294,024.2
1930–19344,300.9
1935–19394,453.8
1940–19444,606
1945–19494,320.4
1950–19543,762
1955–19593,232.3
1960–19642,976.6
1965–19692,816.4
1970–19742,372.9
1975–19792,197.7
1980–19841,982
1985–19891,701.5
1990–19941,412.4
1995–19991,027.8
2000–2004880.7
2005–2009852.4
2010–2014872.5
2015–2019948.2
2020–2024764.7

Source: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (OGL-Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (OGL-BC). Dark bar: the period holding the median birth year.

Brothers and middle names for James

Brother names

Names that rose and fell with James, from the same generation, with no clashing sounds.

  1. 1 in 105, Ireland

  2. 1 in 145, Ireland

  3. 1 in 126, Ireland

  4. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 264, England and Wales

  6. 1 in 137, Scotland

  7. 1 in 224, Northern Ireland

  8. 1 in 207, Northern Ireland

  9. 1 in 130, Ireland

  10. 1 in 88, England and Wales

All 40 brother names for James

Middle names

Scored for rhythm against James's 1 syllable and for long, steady use.

  1. 1 in 86, England and Wales

  2. 1 in 187, England and Wales

  3. 1 in 103, England and Wales

  4. 1 in 118, England and Wales

  5. 1 in 105, Ireland

  6. 1 in 130, Scotland

  7. 1 in 67, England and Wales

  8. 1 in 62, Poland

Full-name check

James Oliver

Syllables 1-3Initials J.O.No sound clashes between the parts.

All 40 middle names for James

Sisters for James: Elizabeth, Elsie, Sophie, and 5 more
  1. ElizabethRose and fell with James · Same generation as James
  2. ElsieRose and fell with James · Hebrew, like James
  3. SophieRose and fell with James · As common as James
  4. EvelynRose and fell with James · Same generation as James
  5. MaryRose and fell with James · Hebrew, like James
  6. FlorenceRose and fell with James
  7. IsabelleRose and fell with James · Same generation as James
  8. JosephineRose and fell with James · Same generation as James · Same initial as James

Girls' names from the same engine, over the girls' lists of the same publishers.

Moved with James

The boy names whose popularity rose and fell most like James's across every region and decade we hold.

  1. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 20 more places.

  2. Common across the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, and 9 more places.

  3. Rare in Italy, Poland, Israel, and 15 more places.

  4. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 9 more places.

  5. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 11 more places.

  6. Common across the UK, Sweden, Austria, and 10 more places.

  7. Rare across the UK, Italy, Poland, and 15 more places.

  8. Rare in France, Italy, Poland, and 16 more places.

Famous people named James

James Joyce, James Cook, and 6 more

From Wikidata, ranked by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article on them. People: Wikidata (CC0). Links go to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists, else English.

Questions about James

How popular is James in Northern Ireland?

James ranked #3 in Northern Ireland in 2025, given to 135 boys, about 1 in 61.

Is James rising in popularity?

Not overall: it is falling in more places than it is rising. Rising in 2 of the 21 regions we can compare over five years, falling in 8. Rising in: Munich and Berlin.

What does James mean?

James means “possibly holding the heel”, according to Wiktionary. The dictionary itself marks this meaning as uncertain.

How many syllables does James have?

James has 1 syllable: JAYMZ.

Every rank and count on this page comes from an official birth register. How these figures are computed.

Meanings, origins and people: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), Wikidata (CC0).

The 42 birth registers behind these figures

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Kept names collect here.

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