The first name James

Discover the meaning and origin of the first name James, its history and its evolution in baptism records preserved in Genealogy Quebec’s collections.

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About the first name James

Meaning

The name James is the English form of Jacques and ultimately goes back to the biblical name Jacob.

Historical origin

The name James comes from medieval English forms derived from Latin Iacomus.

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In Quebec, James appears notably in Anglophone, Irish, and Scottish families and in communities where several language traditions met.

Pronunciation:dy-éïmzdʒeɪmz

Frequency of the first name James by baptism year

The chart below shows the frequency of the first name James by the year of baptisms listed in Genealogy Quebec’s data. It highlights the periods when this first name appears most often and its evolution across generations.

2,819total mentions

Annual evolution of the first name JamesLine chart showing the frequency of the first name James in baptisms by year.50037525012501765181218591906195320001765–1769 1 baptisms1770–1774 5 baptisms1775–1779 8 baptisms1780–1784 3 baptisms1785–1789 6 baptisms1790–1794 5 baptisms1795–1799 9 baptisms1800–1804 7 baptisms1805–1809 8 baptisms1810–1814 2 baptisms1815–1819 3 baptisms1820–1824 28 baptisms1825–1829 47 baptisms1830–1834 133 baptisms1835–1839 183 baptisms1840–1844 266 baptisms1845–1849 208 baptisms1850–1854 269 baptisms1855–1859 301 baptisms1860–1864 415 baptisms1865–1869 226 baptisms1870–1874 133 baptisms1875–1879 120 baptisms1880–1884 94 baptisms1885–1889 62 baptisms1890–1894 40 baptisms1895–1899 32 baptisms1900–1904 37 baptisms1905–1909 19 baptisms1910–1914 15 baptisms1915–1919 14 baptisms1920–1924 17 baptisms1925–1929 23 baptisms1930–1934 17 baptisms1935–1939 18 baptisms1940–1944 7 baptisms1945–1949 2 baptisms1950–1954 7 baptisms1955–1959 5 baptisms1960–1964 4 baptisms1965–1969 1 baptisms1970–1974 2 baptisms1975–1979 4 baptisms1980–1984 5 baptisms1990–1994 3 baptisms1995–1999 3 baptisms2000–2004 2 baptisms

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