James

James m

English and Scottish form of the name borne in the New Testament by two of Christ's disciples, James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. This form comes from Late Latin Iacomus, a variant of Iacobus, Latin form of the New Testament Greek name Iakobos. This is the same name as Old Testament JACOB (SEE Jacob) (Hebrew Yaakov). For many centuries now it has been thought of in the English-speaking world and elsewhere as a distinct name, but in some other cultures, e.g. French, no distinction is made.

In Britain, James is a royal name that from the beginning of the 15th century onwards has been associated particularly with the Scottish house of Stewart: James I of Scotland (1394–1437; ruled 1424–37) was a patron of the arts and a noted poet, as well as an energetic monarch. King James VI of Scotland (1566–1625; reigned 1567–1625) succeeded to the throne of England in 1603. His grandson, James II of England (1633–1701; reigned 1685–8) was a Roman Catholic, deposed in 1688 in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. From then on he, his son (also called James), and his grandson Charles (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’) made various unsuccessful attempts to recover the English throne. Their supporters were known as Jacobites (from Jacobus, Latin form of James), and the name James became for a while particularly associated with Roman Catholicism on the one hand, and Highland opposition to the English government on the other. It is now widely used by people of many different creeds and nationalities.

Cognates: French: JACQUES (SEE Jacques). Italian: Giacomo. Spanish: Jaime. Catalan: Jaume. Galician: Xaime. Irish: Séamas, Séamus, Seumas, Seumus (Gaelic); Shamus (Anglicized). Scottish: Seumas (Gaelic); HAMISH (SEE Hamish) (Anglicized). Cornish: Jago. See also JEM (SEE Jem).

Short form: English: Jim.

Pet form: English, Scottish: Jimmy, Jimmie.

Feminine form: Scottish: Jamesina. See also JAMIE (SEE Jamie).