Shem Tov Boy's nameOrigin: biblicalIn Israel: steady
YaakovIn Hebrew: יעקב · meaning, pronunciation and popularity in Israel
With vowel points: יַעֲקֹבRomanization: ya'akóv
Yaakov (Hebrew: יעקב) is a boy's name of biblical origin. 65,221 people born in Israel between 1949 and 2024 have it today, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS). In 2024 it was given to 822 boys and ranked #21. Its peak year was 1950, with 1,540 babies.
- People in Israel
- 65,221
- born 1949–2024
- Babies in 2024
- 822
- rank #21
- Peak year
- 1950
- 1,540 babies
- USA, 2025
- 218
- rank #1,024
Writing and saying Yaakov
In Hebrew letters the name is יעקב, read right to left. Yaakov is the Latin spelling recorded by our review; families choose their own spelling in passports, so you may also meet other forms. Wiktionary romanizes it as "ya'akóv" (the accent marks the stressed syllable).
Meaning and origin
- Jacob
- a male given name, equivalent to English Jacob
From the imperfect of עָקַב, related to עָקֵב (heel).
Quoted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), unchanged.
Yaakov by year: Israel and abroad
How many boys out of every 10,000 born each year have the name. For Israel it counts the people born that year who carry the name today (the CBS counts residents by year of birth, not birth registrations).
per 10,000 babies of the same sex
Yaakov in English-speaking countries
| Country / region | Year | Babies | Rank | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | 218 | #1,024 | 2021 (237) |
| United Kingdom | 2025 | 3 | #5,061 | 1999 (12) |
| England and Wales | 2025 | 3 | #4,970 | 1999 (12) |
Counts for boys. The Hebrew page for Yaakov has every year and the other spellings.
Related Israeli names
Spelling variants and names that look or sound close in Hebrew.
Questions about Yaakov
How do you write Yaakov in Hebrew?
Yaakov is written יעקב in Hebrew (with vowel points: יַעֲקֹב). Hebrew is read right to left. A dictionary romanization is "ya'akóv".
How many people in Israel are named Yaakov?
65,221 people born between 1949 and 2024 carry the name יעקב: 11 women and 65,210 men. The count comes from the CBS table of current first names by year of birth; years with fewer than 5 people are not published.
Is Yaakov a boy's or a girl's name?
In Israel it is almost always a boy's name: 100.0% of the people named יעקב are men.
What does the name Yaakov mean?
English Wiktionary describes it as: "Jacob" Etymology: From the imperfect of עָקַב, related to עָקֵב (heel).
Is Yaakov used outside Israel?
The name Yaakov appears in the official baby name lists of English-speaking countries. In the United States 218 boys were given it in 2025 (#1,024), per the Social Security Administration. In the UK 3 in 2025 (ONS, NRS and NISRA combined).
Sources
Israel: Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), current first names of people born 1949–2024 by sex, population group and year of birth, processed 2026-09-27. CBS publications.
Abroad
- United States: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA)
Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications - National Data
Years 1880–2025 · updated 2026-04-13 · licence: Public domain (U.S. Government work) · names given to fewer than 5 babies a year are not published - England and Wales: Office for National Statistics (ONS)
Baby names in England and Wales: from 1996
Years 1996–2025 · updated 2026-07 · licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 · names given to fewer than 3 babies a year are not published - Quebec: Retraite Québec
Banque de prénoms (filles, garçons)
Years 1980–2025 · updated 2026-06-18 · licence: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) · names given to fewer than 5 babies a year are not published
Counts are copied as published. We only merged accented spellings (Zoë = Zoe) and computed ranks and rates. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – British Columbia and the Open Government Licence – Alberta.