Names That Mean Supplanter

Semaj is part of a special club of names created by spelling other names backward (meet the president, Nevaeh). Semaj is a reversal of James and is used primarily for boys. But ever since James became fair game for girls, so did Semaj — it's now unisex in usage.

Irish form of Jamie

Peaked in the 1940s, but still an amiable classic, a la Joe and Tom -- though rarely used on its own.

After cracking the US Top 200 in the early 2000s, fueled by Jacob's rise, this name has been losing steam in recent years. But Jakob is the top form of the name in many other countries, cultures, and languages, ranking highly in Germany, Norway, Austria, Iceland, and Slovenia. Jakub is the Polish variation.

A nickname for Jaakko, the Finnish form of Jacob.

Nickname-name that's all the rage in Scandinavia.

Jakub is an authentic Polish variation of the megapopular Jacob, but in the US it will feel like a kree8tiv spelling. Kuba is the cute Polish short form.

Popular enough in the Indian community to have made it onto the US Top 1000 every year from 2001 to 2014 and now again in 2023, possibly inspired by Jamaican activist Leachim Semaj (born Michael James).

What a difference a couple of letters make: Old World version of most popular name never quite made it out of the shtetl.

One of Jacob’s perkier variations.

A stable classic in Turkey, consistently ranking between the Top 50 and Top 70 for boys.

Unusual and unappealing.

Another, more feminine, female form of Jacob sometimes heard in Scotland.

More grown up than Jamie, but never given to more than 13 baby girls in the US per year (and that back in 1968). Modern parents prefer Jamie, Jameson or even James itself, as Blake and Ryan Reynolds chose in 2014.

A top name in Eastern European countries including Croatia and Bosnia, where it is a transcription of Jacob.

The Finnish form of Jacob. A common nickname is Jaska.

Latin form of Jacob, also used in Dutch and Afrikaans.

Dutch short form of Jacobus, popular in South Africa.

Common Slovene nickname for Jakob that also stands on its own in the Top 100. Jaša rhymes with Sasha.