James */dʒeɪmz/ is a popular name worldwide, and the most popular name for a male in the United States. During the 1990 US Census, approximately 3.318% of males counted had the first name James. The name is derived from the Hebrew word meaning held by the heel.

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

• Jaymes
• Jayms (Naji Version)

Female equivalents

• Jamesina, Jamey, Jayme, Jaymie, Jaimie, Jaimita, Gemina, Jamie

Diminutives

Common nicknames for males named James are:

• Jim, Jay, Jamie, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jimi, Jamsey, Jame, Jameson, Jimbo, Jake, Jem, Jems, Jemmy, Jims, Jam, Jams

Translations

• Arabic: ЩЉШ№Щ‚Щ€ШЁ (YaК»qub)
• Armenian: ХЂХЎХЇХёХў (western Hagop, eastern Hakob)
• Azerbaijani: Yaqub
• Basque: Jakes
• Belarusian: Jakub
• Breton: Jagu
• Catalan: Jaume, Xaume
• Chinese: 詹姆士、詹姆斯
• Cornish: Jago, Jammes, Jamma
• Czech: Jakub, Kuba (diminutive)
• Finnish: Jaakob, Jaakoppi, Jaakko
• French: Jacques, Jame, Gemmes (Normandy), Gemme (Normandy), Jacomo huo
• Galician: Xaime
• German: Jakob
• Hawaiian: Kimo
• Italian: Giacomo, Iago
• Irish: SГ©amas, ShГ©amais (vocative), Seamus (anglicized), Shamus (anglicized), SГ©imГ­/ SГ©imГ­n (dim)
• Japanese: ジェームズ
• Latin: Jacobus, Jacomus
• Manx: Jayms
• Occitan: Jammes, James
• Portuguese: Diogo, Jaime, Tiago
• Polish: Jakub
• ProvenГ§al: Jacme
• Romanian: Iacov
• Russian: РЇРєРѕРІ (Yakov), Яша (Yasha) (diminutive)
• Scottish Gaelic: Seumas, Sheumais (vocative), Hamish (anglicized)
• Spanish: Santiago, Jaime, Diego, Yago, Jacobo
• Syriac: ЬќЬ°ЬҐЬ©ЬЅЬ�Ь’ (Yaqub)
• Tagalog: Jaime
• Welsh: Siam, Iago

Famous persons with the given name James

Characters from the Bible

• Saint James the Great or Saint James of Compostela, brother of John the Apostle
• Saint James the Less, a brother of the apostle Matthew and the son of Mary (not Mary, mother of Jesus)
• James the Just, brother of Jesus and believed to have written one of the books of the New Testament, the Epistle of James

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

• James Madison (1751-1836), 4th President of the United States.
• James Monroe (1758-1831), 5th President of the United States.
• James Buchanan (1791-1868), 15th President of the United States.
• James K. Polk (1795-1849), 11th President of the United States.
• James Garfield (1831-1881), 20th President of the United States.
• Jimmy (James Earl) Carter (1924-) 39th President of the United States.

Vice Presidents of the United States of America

• James Schoolcraft Sherman(1855-1912), 27th Vice President under Howard Taft, died in office
• James Danforth Quayle (1947-), 44th Vice President under George H. W. Bush

Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom

• James Callaghan (1912-2005), Labour Prime Minister for 1976-1979

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

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.

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 of Team Rocket, a character in the PokГ©mon anime.
• Captain Hook James Hook, pirate captain in Peter Pan.
• Wolverine (comics) Character from the X-Men comic series, whose real name is James Howlett.
• James "Jamie" Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser, fictional character in Diana Gabaldon's Outlander novel series.

Famous persons with the family name James

• 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
• 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
• 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

Letter of James in the Bible

• Epistle of James/Letter of James in the New Testament

fi:Jaakob fi:Jaakoppi fi:Jaakko fr:Jacques ja:ジェームズ nl:Jacobus pl:Jakub_(imię) ru:РЇРєРѕРІ ru:Яша