James

Etymology

James is the English form of the Latin 'Iacomus', which comes from the Greek 'Iakobos', which translates the Hebrew 'Yaakov' (Jacob). James and Jacob are the same name — one came through Latin into English, the other directly from Hebrew.

Who they were

James the son of Zebedee was one of the first disciples called by Jesus — he and his brother John were mending nets with their father when Jesus called them, and they left immediately. Together with Peter, James and John formed the inner circle — the three present at the Transfiguration, the raising of Jairus' daughter, and the agony in Gethsemane. Jesus nicknamed James and John 'Boanerges' — Sons of Thunder — possibly for their intensity; they once asked Jesus if they should call fire down from heaven on a Samaritan village that rejected them. James was the first of the twelve apostles to be martyred. Acts 12 records it in a single verse: 'Herod had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.' The brevity is striking — no lengthy account, no dramatic last words. He died. The church mourned. Peter was arrested next. A separate James — the brother of Jesus — became the leader of the Jerusalem church and the likely author of the epistle of James, with its famous insistence that 'faith without works is dead.' The name has been borne by more kings, saints, and presidents than almost any other.

Family

Father

Zebedee

Mother

Salome

Character qualities

• Immediate response to calling
• Intensity (Son of Thunder)
• Willingness to die
• Loyalty to Jesus

Key verse

Acts 12:2

Where they appear

Themes

Variants & related forms

Jamie · Jim · Jimmy · Jacques · Jaime · Seamus · Diego · Iago

Related names