James (name)
The name James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "heel" (in the Genesis narrative, Jacob was born grasping Esau′s heel and later bought his birthright).
The name came into English language from the Old French variation James of the late Latin name Iacomus. This was a dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Hebrew יעקב (Yaʻaqov). The development Iacobus > Iacomus is likely a result of nasalization of the o and assimilation to the following b (i.e., intermediate *Iacombus) followed by simplification of the cluster mb through loss of the b. Diminutives include: Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jamie, Jamey, Jimbo, Jay, Jam, Jem and others.
Famous quotes containing the word james:
“Whatever question there may be of his talent, there can be none, I think, of his genius. It was a slim and crooked one, but it was eminently personal. He was unperfect, unfinished, inartistic; he was worse than provincial—he was parochial.”
—Henry James (1843–1916)