Yakov

“Variant of Jacob — Supplanter, or holder of the heel” — Hebrew, via Greek and Latin origin

Boy's name · #1286 in the US (2025) · 2020s

Yakov reached its best rank, #1195, in 2024 and ranked #1286 in 2025. About 3,400 boys have carried it since 1953. In New York and New Jersey it runs 5–14× its national rate.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 2 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Yakovs

Yakov Zeldovich — Soviet physicist, physical chemist and cosmologist (1914-1987)
Yakov Sverdlov — Soviet politician
Yakov Dzhugashvili — first child of Josef Stalin (1907–1943)
Yakov Sinai — Russian-American mathematician
Yakov Protazanov — Russian film director and screenwriter (1881–1945)

In stories & tradition

Yakov (James, son of Alphaeus) — human biblical figure
Yakov — The Seagull
Yakov, Vassily & Raina — Two Cities

What Yakovs become

Among 611 notable people named Yakov:

Military figures appear 5.95× more often than among typical names — e.g. Yakov Smushkevich, Soviet general of aviation.

Similar names: Yaakov · Jiovanni · Yariel · Malikai · Dov · Yeshua

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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