Fun Facts About the Name Jacobo
- More than 3 thousand babies named Jacobo: U.S. records list 3,485 babies given the name Jacobo from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Jacobo Mean?
Jacobo is the Spanish form of the biblical name Jacob, and it carries the same meaning: "supplanter," or more literally "heel-holder." The name goes back to Hebrew Ya'aqov (יַעֲקֹב), which is traditionally connected to the noun 'aqev ("heel") and the verb 'aqav ("to grasp the heel" or "to supplant"). The book of Genesis ties the name to the story of Jacob, who was born gripping the heel of his twin brother Esau and who later took Esau's birthright and blessing; Genesis 27:36 makes the wordplay explicit with the verb meaning "to supplant."
Some scholars have proposed a different origin, reading Ya'aqov as a shortened theophoric name from a Semitic root meaning "to protect," so that it would mean something like "may God protect." That explanation is possible but not settled, and the heel/supplant wordplay in Genesis remains the traditional and most commonly cited understanding. The literal sense is the heel image; "supplanter" is the customary interpretive gloss that grew out of it.
Jacobo Name History & Origins
The Hebrew Ya'aqov was rendered in Greek as Iakobos (Ἰάκωβος) and in Latin as Iacobus (also written Jacobus). From Latin, the name entered the languages of western Europe by two routes. One was the learned, bookish transmission that kept the name close to its Latin shape; the other was the everyday spoken transmission, which wore the name down into shorter popular forms.
Spanish shows both routes clearly. Jacobo is the learned borrowing, used for the Old Testament patriarch Jacob and in scholarly or formal contexts, and Spanish writers also apply it to foreign kings named James, such as James I of England (Jacobo I). The everyday route produced Yago and, compounded with Sant ("Saint"), Santiago, the name by which the apostle James is known in Spanish. Spanish kings named James, meanwhile, are usually called Jaime. So Jacobo, Yago, Santiago, and Jaime are relatives from the same Latin root, but each followed its own path. Parallel developments occurred elsewhere: Italian has Giacomo and Jacopo, and Portuguese has Jacó alongside Tiago.
Jacobo itself has been used as a Spanish given name and appears in Spanish-language Bible translations and devotional writing for the patriarch and for the apostle. Beyond the Hispanic world it is also found as a given name in other countries, generally as a straightforward borrowing of the Spanish form.
How Popular is the Name Jacobo?
Jacobo has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2023. Its best rank was #1,368 in 1910.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,982 | 77 | 0.0045% |
| 2024 | #1,735 | 95 | 0.0055% |
| 2023 | #1,593 | 109 | 0.0064% |
| 2022 | #1,644 | 105 | 0.0060% |
| 2021 | #2,086 | 70 | 0.0040% |
| 2020 | #1,661 | 96 | 0.0056% |
| 2019 | #1,704 | 93 | 0.0052% |
| 2018 | #2,057 | 70 | 0.0039% |
| 2017 | #1,984 | 72 | 0.0039% |
| 2016 | #1,893 | 78 | 0.0041% |
| 2015 | #2,075 | 68 | 0.0035% |
| 2014 | #1,785 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 2013 | #1,741 | 84 | 0.0044% |
| 2012 | #1,900 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 2011 | #1,814 | 79 | 0.0042% |
| 2010 | #1,603 | 98 | 0.0051% |
| 2009 | #1,801 | 83 | 0.0042% |
| 2008 | #1,646 | 94 | 0.0046% |
| 2007 | #1,688 | 90 | 0.0043% |
| 2006 | #2,046 | 65 | 0.0032% |
| 2005 | #1,654 | 82 | 0.0041% |
| 2004 | #1,809 | 69 | 0.0035% |
| 2003 | #1,505 | 86 | 0.0044% |
| 2002 | #1,713 | 68 | 0.0035% |
| 2001 | #1,594 | 75 | 0.0039% |
| 2000 | #1,672 | 69 | 0.0035% |
| 1999 | #1,646 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 1998 | #1,970 | 49 | 0.0026% |
| 1997 | #1,868 | 50 | 0.0027% |
| 1996 | #1,968 | 45 | 0.0024% |
| 1995 | #1,669 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1994 | #1,678 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1993 | #1,648 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1992 | #2,232 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1991 | #1,778 | 45 | 0.0022% |
| 1990 | #2,026 | 37 | 0.0018% |
| 1989 | #2,127 | 33 | 0.0016% |
| 1988 | #1,779 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 1987 | #2,504 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 1986 | #1,891 | 32 | 0.0017% |
| 1985 | #2,458 | 21 | 0.0011% |
| 1984 | #1,563 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 1983 | #2,524 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 1982 | #1,914 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1981 | #1,646 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1980 | #1,983 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1979 | #1,846 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1978 | #2,848 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 1977 | #2,093 | 23 | 0.0014% |
| 1976 | #2,140 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 1975 | #2,247 | 20 | 0.0013% |
| 1974 | #2,018 | 22 | 0.0014% |
| 1973 | #2,265 | 18 | 0.0012% |
| 1972 | #3,051 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #3,783 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1970 | #3,158 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #3,428 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1968 | #2,986 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1967 | #3,733 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1966 | #3,701 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #2,882 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #3,800 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1963 | #3,463 | 7 | 0.0003% |
| 1962 | #2,433 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1961 | #2,992 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1960 | #3,834 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1959 | #2,724 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1958 | #4,204 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1957 | #2,910 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #2,429 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1954 | #3,056 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #2,612 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1952 | #3,538 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1951 | #2,755 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1950 | #2,374 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1949 | #2,698 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1948 | #2,885 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1947 | #3,532 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #3,337 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #2,985 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #2,337 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1940 | #2,401 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1939 | #2,971 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1938 | #3,338 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1936 | #3,343 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1934 | #2,840 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1933 | #3,898 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #2,250 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #4,266 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #4,264 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #3,023 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1926 | #1,870 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1925 | #3,947 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #3,666 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #2,521 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1922 | #2,562 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1921 | #2,430 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1919 | #2,991 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1917 | #3,386 | 7 | 0.0008% |
| 1915 | #4,095 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1914 | #3,079 | 6 | 0.0009% |
| 1912 | #2,415 | 6 | 0.0014% |
| 1910 | #1,368 | 7 | 0.0036% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Jacobo Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are honest, benevolent, brilliant and often inventive, full of high inspirations. You are courageous, honest, determined, original and creative. You are a leader, especially for a cause. Sometimes you do not care to finish what you start, and may leave details to others. You can do well in position of authority, and prospers in intellectual and professional fields. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for a chance to do your own thing, to be your own person, and to have things done your own way.
✦ Jacobo's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Jacobo's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.