boys' name ★ peaked 2001

Jakob

Meaning A male given name, equivalent to English Jacob Gender Boy Rank 2025 #1,372 Trend ↓ Falling 41%

A male given name, equivalent to English Jacob.

Rank 2025
#1,372
among boys · ↓251 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
135
named Jakob · -29% vs 2024
How common
1 in 12,652
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2001
2,192 babies
All-time total
31,959
#660 all-time among boys
First recorded
1957
in Social Security records

Jakob popularity over time

31,959 babies have been named Jakob since 1957, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020Peak 2001Boys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Boys Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – –
1890s – – – –
1900s – – – –
1910s – – – –
1920s – – – –
1930s – – – –
1940s – – – –
1950s 19 2 – #3,390
1960s 42 4 +121% #2,858
1970s 288 29 +586% #1,143
1980s 1,214 121 +322% #635
1990s 8,163 816 +572% #191
2000s 14,765 1,477 +81% #172
2010s 6,189 619 -58% #298
2020s (to 2025) 1,279 213 -66% #846

Where Jakob is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 123 0.07 outside top 500
2027 113 0.07 outside top 500
2028 106 0.06 outside top 500
2029 99 0.06 outside top 500
2030 95 0.06 outside top 500

Where Jakob is most popular

Boys named Jakob per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.118 per 1,000. Strongest in Colorado, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Jakob born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Colorado 24 0.186 +57%
Connecticut 12 0.177 +50%
Pennsylvania 43 0.162 +37%
Arkansas 10 0.158 +33%
West Virginia 5 0.153 +29%
Illinois 38 0.149 +26%
Florida 68 0.144 +21%
Maryland 17 0.143 +20%
Michigan 28 0.137 +15%
New York 59 0.136 +15%
Virginia 24 0.126 +7%
Texas 105 0.119 ≈ national
California 107 0.117 ≈ national
Washington 19 0.116 ≈ national
Arizona 19 0.116 ≈ national
North Carolina 27 0.106 -11%
New Jersey 20 0.099 -16%
Oregon 7 0.092 -22%
Oklahoma 8 0.090 -24%
Kansas 5 0.073 -38%
Tennessee 13 0.072 -39%
Kentucky 6 0.060 -50%
Massachusetts 8 0.058 -51%
Ohio 15 0.057 -52%
Alabama 6 0.055 -54%
Indiana 7 0.044 -63%
Missouri 6 0.043 -63%
Wisconsin 5 0.042 -64%
Georgia 10 0.039 -67%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Louisiana – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Jakob

Jakob is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,372 in 2025 with 135 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1957, 31,959 American babies have been named Jakob. Its peak came in 2001, when 2,192 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Jakob stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Jakob?

The median living Jakob is about 22 years old; half are between 16 and 26. An estimated 31 thousand people named Jakob are alive in the United States today.

median 22 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Jakob year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Boys Boys rank
2025 135 #1,372
2024 191 #1,121
2023 189 #1,119
2022 227 #991
2021 281 #846
2020 256 #884
2019 312 #759
2018 344 #703
2017 404 #640
2016 476 #581
2015 548 #525
2014 645 #458
2013 711 #416
2012 742 #395
2011 910 #334
2010 1,097 #298
2009 989 #324
2008 1,083 #308
2007 1,108 #303
2006 1,158 #293
2005 1,215 #275
2004 1,416 #235
2003 1,607 #218
2002 1,836 #203
2001 2,192 #172
2000 2,161 #173
1995 561 #407
1990 306 #578
1985 83 #1,002
1980 78 #1,028
1975 32 #1,605
1970 6 #4,466
1965 – –
1960 – –
1955 – –
1950 – –
1945 – –
1940 – –
1935 – –
1930 – –
1925 – –
1920 – –
1915 – –
1910 – –
1905 – –
1900 – –
1895 – –
1890 – –
1885 – –
1880 – –

Famous people named Jakob

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Jakob Dylan Jakob Dylan American singer-songwriter (born 1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Jakob Ingebrigtsen Jakob Ingebrigtsen Norwegian middle- and long-distance runner (born 2000) Contemporary
  3. 3 Jakob Fugger Jakob Fugger German merchant, mining entrepreneur and banker (1459–1525) Medieval
  4. 4 Jakob Pöltl Jakob Pöltl Austrian basketball player (born 1995) Contemporary
  5. 5 Jakob Böhme Jakob Böhme German philosopher (1575–1624) 16th century
  6. 6 Jakob Ammann Jakob Ammann Anabaptist leader 1644–1730 · 17th century
  7. 7 Jakob Poulsen Jakob Poulsen Danish footballer (born 1983) Contemporary
  8. 8 Jakob Nielsen Jakob Nielsen American computer scientist (born 1957) Contemporary
  9. 9 Jakob Fuglsang Jakob Fuglsang Danish road racing cyclist b. 1985 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Jakob Steiner Jakob Steiner Swiss mathematician (1796–1863) 18th century
  11. 11 Jakob Lorber Jakob Lorber Austrian musician 1800–1864 · 18th century
  12. 12 Jakob Wassermann Jakob Wassermann German writer (1873–1934) 19th century
  13. 13 Jakob von Uexküll Jakob von Uexküll Baltic German biologist, zoologist, and philosopher (1864–1944) 19th century
  14. 14 Jakob Hlasek Jakob Hlasek Swiss tennis player (born 1964) Contemporary
  15. 15 Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz Jakob Michael Reinhold Lenz German playwright (1751–1792) 18th century
  16. 16 Jakob Friedrich Fries Jakob Friedrich Fries German philosopher and mathematician (1773–1843) 18th century
  17. 17 Jakob Jakobsen Jakob Jakobsen Faroese linguist and scholar 1864–1918 · 19th century
  18. 18 Jakob van Hoddis Jakob van Hoddis Jewish German expressionist poet 1887–1942 · 19th century
  19. 19 Jakob Jantscher Jakob Jantscher Austrian footballer (born 1989) Contemporary
  20. 20 Jakob Hurt Jakob Hurt Estonian ethnologist, folklorist and linguist 1839–1907 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Jakob, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Jakob?

The median living Jakob is about 22 years old. Half of all living Jakobs are between 16 and 26 years old.

How many people named Jakob are alive today?

An estimated 31 thousand people named Jakob are alive in the United States, based on 31,959 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Jakob mean?

A male given name, equivalent to English Jacob.

How popular is the name Jakob in 2025?

Jakob ranked #1,372 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 135 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Jakob?

31,959 babies have been named Jakob in the United States since 1957, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Jakob most popular?

Jakob peaked in 2001, when 2,192 newborns received the name.

Is Jakob a boy or girl name?

Jakob is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Jakob rising or falling?

Jakob is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Jakob become more popular?

Jakob is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 95 boys named Jakob in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Jakob?

Well-known people named Jakob include Jakob Dylan (singer), Jakob Ingebrigtsen (athlete), Jakob Fugger (businessperson).

Names like Jakob

Names that sound and feel close to Jakob: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Jakob with similar names → More names starting with J →