How popular is the baby name Jacob in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, see baby names similar to Jacob and check out all the blog posts that mention the name Jacob.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Jacob

Number of Babies Named Jacob

Born in the U.S. Since 1880

Posts that Mention the Name Jacob

Popular Baby Names in Northern Ireland, 2017

According to the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the most popular baby names in Northern Ireland in 2017 were Emily and James.

Here are the Northern Ireland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emily, 216 baby girls
2. Grace, 202
3. Olivia, 179
4. Isla, 153
5. Anna, 142
6. Sophie, 132
7. Ella, 128
8. Amelia, 127
9. Charlotte, 124
10. Sophia, 121

Boy Names
1. James, 243 baby boys
2. Jack, 226
3. Noah, 189
4. Charlie, 185
5. Jacob, 180
6. Harry, 169
7. Thomas, 158
8. Daniel, 147
9. Oliver, 143
10. Logan, 125

In the girls’ top ten, Isla and Charlotte replace Lily and Ava.

In the boys’ top ten, Thomas and Logan replace Matthew and Alfie.

The top two names, Emily and James, were the same in 2016.

In the adjacent Republic of Ireland, the top names of 2017 were Emily and Jack.

Sources: Baby Names – NISRA, Top 10 baby names in Northern Ireland

Most Popular Baby Names in Saskatchewan, 2017

According to eHealth Saskatchewan, the most popular baby names in the province in 2017 were Olivia and Liam.

Here are Saskatchewan’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Olivia, 80 baby girls
2. Ava, 65
3. Emma, 58
4. Emily, 51
5. Sophia, 45
6. Harper, 43
7. Amelia, 42
8. Hannah, 37
9. Aria, 36 (2-way tie)
10. Chloe, 36 (2-way tie)

Boy Names
1. Liam, 73 baby boys
2. William, 60
3. Jacob, 57 (2-way tie)
4. Oliver, 57 (2-way tie)
5. Lincoln, 54 (2-way tie)
6. Owen, 54 (2-way tie)
7. Noah, 53
8. Benjamin, 51
9. Jack, 47 (2-way tie)
10. James, 47 (2-way tie)

In the girls’ top 10, Harper, Hannah, and Aria replace Scarlett, Paisley, and Ella. (Hanging out in 11th is Brielle, which was also in 11th in 2016.)

In the boys’ top 10, Jacob, Lincoln, Owen, and James replace Lucas, Ethan, Carter, and Logan

Source: Most Popular Baby Names for 2017 – eHealth Saskatchewan

Unusual Baby Name: Jacomyn

The female name Jacomyn caught my eye as I was browsing through Curiosities of Puritan Nomenclature by Charles W. Bardsley recently

Jacomyn, part of the massive James/Jacob name-group, fell out of usage in England centuries ago (though an equivalent name, Jacomijn, still sees usage among the Dutch).

I’m not sure how the final syllable would have been pronounced — short like Evelyn? long like Adeline? — but I do know that the name was spelled all sorts of ways back in the 16th and 17th centuries:

  • Jacomyn Prentis, born in 1568 in London
  • Jacomin Tapshall, born in 1638 in Dover
  • Jacomyne Slade, born in 1614 in London
  • Jackomyn Boxsall, born in 1564 in Lodsworth
  • Jackamin Greene, born in 1672 in London
  • Jackamyn Wodestock, born in 1562 in Croydon
  • Jackemyne Trovell, born in 1576 in Ullingswick

I wonder if modern parents would be interested in Jacomyn as an alternative to more common James/Jacob-based feminine names like Jamie and Jacqueline…?

Would you consider using the name Jacomyn?

Most Popular Baby Names in Quebec, 2017

According to Retraite Québec, the most popular baby names in Quebec in 2017 were (again) Emma and William.

Here are the province’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2017:

Girl Names
1. Emma, 614 baby girls
2. Lea, 554
3. Alice, 512
4. Olivia, 483
5. Florence, 482
6. Charlotte, 425
7. Charlie, 420
8. Rosalie, 384
9. Beatrice, 369
10. Zoe, 349

Boy Names
1. William, 710 baby boys
2. Logan, 671
3. Liam, 629
4. Noah, 573
5. Jacob, 571
6. Thomas, 561
7. Raphael, 498
8. Nathan, 496
9. Leo, 494
10. Alexis, 461

The girls’ top 10 contains the same names as in 2016, but in a different order.

In the boys’ top 10, Raphael and Leo replace Felix (now 13th) and Gabriel (now 16th)

Some of the baby names used just once last year include:

  • Girls: Amberina, Benitha, Cassily, Delya, Elpis, Felia, Gwenia, Hajrah, Isalia, Jecolia, Kindia, Lagertha, Mimsy, Nolka, Odaluna, Posie, Rinnah, Sharbella, Tesseract*, Ujarak, Vitalina, Wathahontha, Ysoo, Zanaelle
  • Boys: Arjo, Braveman, Clermont, Daxon, Ebbo, Floyd, Gideon, Holyver, Izai, Joah, Kephry, Lelio, Majorik, Nelligan, Orelsan, Plume, Ricardy, Syphax, Tayze, Uapeshkuss, Valerian, Witghy, Yanrick, Zarrar

This is the first time I’ve seen the geometry term “tesseract” used as a baby name. As Wikipedia puts it, “the tesseract is to the cube as the cube is to the square.” It’s a hypercube, basically. The word was coined in the 1880s from the Greek words tessera, “four,” and aktis, “ray.” Definitely an unusual name…though it does conveniently shorten to Tess.

Source: Retraite Québec – List of Baby Names, Tesseract – Wikipedia

Biggest Changes, Baby Boy Names, 2017

Which boy names increased the most in popularity from 2016 to 2017? And which ones decreased the most?

There are a few different ways to answer this question. The SSA, for instance, likes to look at ranking differences within the top 1,000. And I like to augment their list by looking at raw number differences across all the data.

So let’s look at increases first…

Boy Names: Biggest Increases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Wells, +504 spots
2. Kairo, +423
3. Caspian, +328
4. Nova, +323
5. Colson, +323
6. Kace, +315
7. Kashton, +302
8. Koa, +294
9. Gatlin, +282
10. Bjorn, +276

Wells was influenced by Wells Adams, a contestant from The Bachelorette. Nova may have been influenced by “all those Villanova Wildcats basketball fans naming their sons in celebration of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champions.”

Raw Numbers

1. Logan, +2,748 babies
2. Maverick, +1,751
3. Ezekiel, +1,350
4. Mateo, +1,181
5. Lincoln, +1,032
6. Theodore, +1,018
7. Matias, +643
8. Leo, +642
9. Jameson, +639
10. Rowan, +637

Other names that saw raw number increases in the 300+ range included Asher, Santiago, Ezra, Rhett, Waylon, and Legend.

And now let’s check out decreases…

Boy Names: Biggest Decreases, 2016 to 2017

Rankings

1. Riaan, -421 spots
2. Kylo, -245
3. Kolby, -195
4. Urijah, -189
5. Kamdyn, -189
6. Jamar, -163
7. Giovani, -160
8. Nickolas, -155
9. Chad, -155
10. Jair, -147

The higher they climb, the harder they fall: Riaan was the fastest-rising boy name of 2015, and Kylo was the fastest-rising boy name of 2016, and now they’re both plummeting in 2017.

Raw Numbers

1. Mason, -1,728 babies
2. Michael, -1,478
3. Ethan, -1,417
4. Jacob, -1,373
5. Daniel, -1,281
6. Andrew, -1,161
7. Gabriel, -1,124
8. Anthony, -1,049
9. Matthew, -994
10. Owen, -970

Other names that saw raw number drops in the (negative) 300+ range included Aiden, Jackson, Gavin, Ryder, Jase, Hudson, and Tristan.

Do you have any explanations for the name movement above? If so, please comment!

Sources: Change in Popularity, SSA, Emma and Liam Top Social Security’s Most Popular Baby Names for 2017