Jacob

Jacob is an English and Dutch form of the Late Latin Jacobus, itself derived from the Greek Iakobos, which was a rendering of the Hebrew name Yaakov. The Hebrew root is traditionally connected to the word for heel, reflecting the biblical narrative in which the patriarch Jacob was born grasping the heel of his twin brother Esau; the name is also interpreted as meaning one who supplants. As one of the most prominent figures in the Hebrew Bible and a forefather of the twelve tribes of Israel, Jacob has held deep significance across Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions for millennia. Closely related forms include James, which descends from the same Latin source, as well as Jacques, Diego, Jakov, Jakub, and Jaakko across various European languages.