James

English variation of Jacob, Hebrew

"supplanter"

Updated Mon Dec 23 2024

Show me James as a girl's name →

James Origin and Meaning

The name James is a boy's name of Hebrew, English origin meaning "supplanter".

James is one of the classic Anglo-Saxon names, a stalwart through the ages that is more popular—and yes, stylish—than ever today. It recently came out Number 1 in a poll of America's favorite boys' baby names, and is the most common male name, counting people of all ages, in the US.

James, which reentered the Top 5 in 2016, is a current favorite among fashionable parents looking for a baby name that has both style and substance. Like Henry and Theodore, it manages to combine these two stellar qualities.

An English derivation of the Hebrew name Jacob, James is biblical (the name of two apostles in the New Testament), royal (kings of both England and Scotland), and presidential (with more U.S. Chief Executives -- six -- than any other name). The name James is also shared by countless great writers and entertainers.

There are fewer Jimmys, Jimbos or even Jamies these days; the most fashionable form of the name is James itself. Several stylish celebrities have chosen it in recent years for their sons, including Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, Liz Phair, Colin Farrell and Isaac Hanson. Brendan Fehr thought out of the box and named his daughter James, which has now become a fashionable middle names for baby girls..

James has some interesting foreign variations: Diego and Jaime (Spanish), Jacques (French), Giacomo (Italian), Hamish (Scottish), Jaako (Finnish), Seamus (Irish), Jaap (Dutch) and Jago (Cornish).

Along with being one of the most popular first names in the US, James is also one of the most common American last names .

# 4 in the US

James Rank in US Top 1000

# 18 on Nameberry

James Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

James Popularity

4US2023
18Nameberry2024
11Canada2023
15Future2028
35England2023
12Scotland2023
3Ireland2023
16Australia2023
15New Zealand2023
311Germany2016
10Netherlands2023
82Belgium2023
81Switzerland2023

20 Names Similar to James

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like James.

Famous People Named James

Saint James the Just
brother of Jesus, first bishop of Jerusalem
Saint James the Apostle
son of Zebedee, brother of John the Apostle
James I
V, Kings of Scotland
James I and VI and James II and VII
Kings of England and Scotland
James I and II
Kings of Aragon
James II
IV, Kings of Majorca
James Madison
Jr., 4th U.S. president
James Monroe
5th U.S. president
James Knox Polk
11th U.S. president
James Buchanan
Jr., 15th U.S. president
James Abram Garfield
20th U.S. president

James Earl "Jimmy" Carter
Jr., 39th U.S. president
James Connolly
Irish revolutionary leader, signatory and labor leader
James Larkin
Irish revolutionary leader and labor leader
James Byron Dean
American actor
James Joseph Brown
American singer
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey
Canadian actor
James Maitland "Jimmy" Stewart
American actor
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page
English musician of band Led Zeppelin
James Taylor
American singer,songwriter
James Earl Jones
American actor

James Todd Smith aka LL Cool J
American rapper and actor
James Byron Casey
American football player
James Corden
English comedian and TV host
James Child Drury
Jr., American actor
James Edward Franco
American actor
James Hillier Blunt
English singer,songwriter
James Robert "Jim Bob" Duggar
TV personality
James Thomas "Jimmy" Fallon
American actor/comedian
James Feigen
American swimmer
James George Frazer
Scottish anthropologist

James Garner
American actor
James "Jimi" Hendrix
American singer
James Maury "Jim" Henson
American puppeteer
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce
Irish novelist and poet
James Harvey "Jamie" Kennedy
American actor/comedian
James Martin Lafferty
American actor
James Hiroyuki Liao
American actor
James Magnussen
Australian swimmer
James Marlowe
American actor and singer
James Paul Marsden
American actor

James Marsters
American actor
James David Maslow
American actor and singer
James Clerk Maxwell
Scottish mathematical physicist
James Andrew McAvoy
Scottish actor
James Daniel McVey
lead guitarist for The Vamps
James Morrison
English singer
James "Murr" Murray
comedian from TV's Impractical Jokers
James Rainwater
American physicist and Nobel prize winner
James Righton
member of the British band, Klaxons
James Roberts
Australian swimmer

James Rollins
American Author
James David Van Der Beek
American actor
James Wolfe
British war hero
(James) Paul McCartney
English musician of The Beatles
James William Acaster
British comedian
James David "Roady" Rodriguez
American actor
James Andrew Eric Phelps
English actor
James Anthony Yammouni
Youtube comedian
James A. Lovell
Jr., American astronaut
James A. McDivitt
American astronaut

James Fitzjames
British Royal Navy officer
James Joseph "Jim" Parsons
American actor
James Elliot Bourne
British musician of band Busted
James Alfred "Jim" Chapman
British vlogger
James Perry
American actor in YouTube sketch comedy show Studio C
James Francis "Jim" Cameron
Canadian filmmaker, director, and producer
James Metcalfe "Jamie" Campbell Bower
English actor, singer, and model
James Ma (born James Assarasakorn)
Thai actor and model
James Kowats
American executive producer
James Milner
English professional footballer

James "UberHaxorNova" Wilson
YouTube personality
James Charles Dickinson
YouTube personality
James Turner
YouTuber
James Leonard Gillette (b.1997)
son of Lita Ford and Jim Gillette of Nitro
James Andrew Duggar (b. 2001)
13th child of reality TV's Duggar family
James Wilkie Broderick (b. 2002)
son of actors Matthew Broderick & Sarah Jessica Parker
James Alexander Philip Theo Mountbatten
Windsor, Viscount Severn (b. 2007); son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex; grandson of Queen Elizabeth II
James Monroe Hanson (b. 2008)
son of American musician Isaac Hanson
James Hoke Dorough (b. 2009)
son of singer Howie Dorough of the Backstreet Boys
James Joseph Cavanagh (b. 2009)
son of Canadian actor Tom Cavanagh

James Timothy Pudi (b. 2012)
son of actor Danny Pudi
James Knight Newman (b. 2013)
son of actress and model Jaime King
James Hamilton McDonough (b. 2014)
son of actor Neal McDonough
James Jeffrey Dunham (b. 2015)
son of comedian Jeff Dunham
James Arthur Walker
IV (b. 2016), son of American news correspondent Brooke Anderson
Jamin James Pastore (b.2017)
son of Natalie Pasquarella and Jamin Pastore
James Andrew Glennon (b. 2018)
son of American reality television personality Amber Portwood, half,brother to Leah Leann
James Holt Joblon (b. 2019)
son of Claire Holt and Andrew Joblon.
James Hunter Bailey
son of Devon Aoki and James Bailey.
James Francis Cagney Jr.
American actor

James in Pop Culture

James Bond
007, spy character created by Ian Fleming
James Tiberius Kirk
captain in the Star Trek series
James 'Jim' Hawkins
main character in RL Stevenson's Treasure Island and Disney's Treasure Planet
James Isaac "Jimmy" Neutron
main character in Jimmy Neutron : Boy Genius
James Conrad
character in "King Kong" series
"James & the Giant Peach
" novel by Roald Dahl, movie and main character
James "Prongs" Potter
father of Harry James Potter in the Harry Potter series
James Sirius Potter
son of Harry James Potter in the Harry Potter series
James "Jem" Carstairs
character in Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series
James "Jim" Moriarty
nemesis in the Sherlock Holmes series
James "Rhodey" Rhodes
character in Marvel Universe

James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes
character in Marvel Universe
James "Logan" Howlett
also known as Wolverine, character in Marvel Universe
James "Sawyer" Ford
character on TV series "Lost"
James "Jim" Paxton
character in Marvel Universe
James Griffin
the MFE pilot in Voltron: Legendary Defender
James Sunderland
main character in the video game "Silent Hill 2"
James Leary
character in video game "The Sims 3: Moonlight Bay"
James Diamond
character on TV's "Big Time Rush"
James
character in the Twilight series
James "Jimmy" Kent
character on TV's "Downton Abbey"

James
main character in viral short film "One,Minute Time Machine" (2014)
James Trivette
character on TV's "Walker, Texas Ranger"
James
member of Team Rocket in the Pokemon series
James Duncan "Jim" Halpert
character on TV's "The Office"
James Lucas "Jamie" Scott
character on TV's "One Tree Hill"
James
a train on TV's "Thomas & Friends"
James "Wilke" Wilkerson III
Character on TV's "Switched at Birth"
James Whitlock
character in the Mindbender series by Veronica Slemp
James Stark
character in the 'House of Night' series by PC Cast
James Gatz
birth name of Jay Gatsby in F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby"

James Byrd
penguin in "Spyro the Dragon" video games
James Walsham
main character in G. A. Henty's, With Wolfe in Canada
James Herondale
main character in Cassandra Clare's "The Last Hours"
James 'Iggy' Griffiths
character in the Maximum Ride novels
James
character in video game "Fallout 3"
James Yewbeam
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
James Morgan "Jimmy" McGill
real name of Saul Goodman, character on TV's 'Breaking Bad' and 'Better Call Saul'
James Dennet
character in Mary Kubica's novel "The Good Girl"
James "Jimmy" Palmer
character on TV's "NCIS"
James Evan Wilson
character on TV's "House M.D."

James "Jim" Brass
character on TV's "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation"
James Rook
character in webcomic "Hotblood!"
James Bartholomew "Jimmy" Olsen
character in DC Universe
James Jacob "Jim" Harper
also known as Guardian, character in DC Universe
James Jesse
also known as Trickster, character in DC Universe
James Gordon Sr. and James Gordon Jr.
characters in DC Universe
James Bennet(t) Sr. and James Bennet(t) Jr.
characters in DC Universe
James Keziah Delaney
Tom Hardy's character in Taboo (TV Series)
James "Jim" Lake Jr.
character in DreamWorks Trollhunters
James Vanderboom
character in Rusty Lake: Roots

James Ratri aka William Minerva
character in the manga/anime series "The Promised Neverland"