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Summary
- James is a biblical name: it is the English form of Jacob, from the Hebrew Ya’aqov, through the Greek Iakōbos and the later Latin Iacomus.
- The New Testament names at least four men called James: James the son of Zebedee, James the son of Alphaeus, James the brother of the Lord, and James the father of Judas.
- James the son of Zebedee, brother of John, was killed by King Herod around AD 44 (Acts 12:2); tradition places his tomb at Santiago de Compostela, and his feast is 25 July.
- James the brother of the Lord led the church in Jerusalem and, according to Josephus, was stoned in about AD 62; Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants explain “brother” differently.
- The Letter of James is traditionally credited to the brother of the Lord and teaches that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
- English Bibles used the name James long before the King James Version of 1611; it was the most popular American boys’ name from 1940 to 1952.
Bibliography (Click to show)
- Behind the Name, “James,” “Jacob,” “Iacomus,” “Santiago” and “Jamie,” with United States popularity figures from Social Security Administration data. https://www.behindthename.com/name/james
- Online Etymology Dictionary, “James.” https://www.etymonline.com/word/James
- Strong’s Greek 2384, Iakōb, and 2385, Iakōbos, Bible Hub. https://biblehub.com/greek/2385.htm
- Eusebius, Church History, book 2, chapters 1 and 23, quoting Hegesippus and Josephus, Antiquities 20.9.1, in Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, second series, vol. 1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250102.htm
- “James the Great,” “James, son of Alphaeus,” “James, brother of Jesus,” “Brothers of Jesus” and “Epistle of James,” Wikipedia, on identifications, feast days and authorship. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James,_brother_of_Jesus
- “Camino de Santiago,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago
- “King James Version” and “Wycliffe’s Bible,” Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_James_Version
- Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version (Genesis 25:26; 27:36; Matthew 1:2; Mark 1:19–20; 3:17; 6:3; 15:40; John 7:5; Acts 12:2; 15:19; Galatians 2:9; Luke 6:16; James 1:1, 27; 2:17; 3:17), the King James Version (Mark 15:40; Luke 6:16), Wycliffe’s Bible in a modern-spelling edition (Mark 3:17; James 1:1) and the SBL Greek New Testament (Luke 6:16). References: Mark 3:18; 5:37; 9:2; 14:33; Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13; 1 Corinthians 15:7; James 3:5–8; 5:14–16. Other translations checked: Russian Synodal, Japanese Living Bible, Louis Segond, Luther 1545, CEI and Reina-Valera 1960.
