Jacobs Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Jacobs last name means, where the surname began and where it was first recorded.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Jacobs coat of arms for you.
Meaning and origin of the Jacobs last name
Meaning of the Jacobs last name: son of Jacob. Jacobs is a patronymic, "son of Jacob", from the Hebrew name Jaakov, traditionally read as "supplanter". In medieval England, Jacob and James were both used for the Latin Iacobus. The English name is most common in the south and the Midlands, and in Wales. The same form arose independently in the Netherlands and northern Germany, and it is also a frequent Jewish surname, so American bearers come from several traditions. The Latin Iacobus also gave the surnames James, Jacobson and Jacques. Pilgrimage to the shrine of Saint James at Santiago de Compostela made the name popular across medieval Europe. In Dutch the form Jacobs is very common in Flanders and North Brabant. Jewish families who took Jacobs as a fixed surname did so mostly in the 18th and 19th centuries, especially in the Netherlands, Germany and England.
Our historical archives hold much more on the Jacobs name: dates, names and records of early bearers.
This overview covers the Jacobs name in England. We also hold records of the name in other countries, such as the United States, the Netherlands and South Africa; your full pack is researched for your family's country of origin.
Get your full Jacobs family history
The researched Jacobs pack traces meaning, early bearers and migration routes, and includes a personalized Jacobs coat of arms.
Jacobs name FAQ
What does the Jacobs name mean?
Son of Jacob. Common variants include Jacob, Jakobs, Jacobson.
Where does the Jacobs surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, the Netherlands and South Africa.
Is there a Jacobs coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals, not whole surnames, so there is no single Jacobs crest. Herald Lab paints a personalized Jacobs coat of arms based on historic heraldry.
Researched by Herald Lab Research Studio, since 1993. Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); US Census Bureau 2010.