MEANING & CONTEXT
What does James mean?
James developed through Latin forms of the Hebrew name Jacob. The traditional interpretation connects Jacob with a heel. The biblical birth story describes Jacob beside his twin Esau, giving that interpretation its narrative basis.
Spellings in Indian scripts
Devanagari
जेम्स
Conventional spelling
HISTORICAL VOTER RECORDS
James in Indian usage
19,766 historical electoral-roll records, chiefly adults, rather than current baby-name rankings.
Mostly recorded for boys (99.4%) in these historical records.
- Recorded as female: 112 records (0.6%).
- Recorded as male: 19,654 records (99.4%).
By birth decade
| Birth decade | Records |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 983 |
| 1950s | 3,293 |
| 1960s | 6,083 |
| 1970s | 4,477 |
| 1980s | 2,906 |
| 1990s | 1,819 |
| Other decades | 205 |
By state or territory
| State / territory | Records |
|---|---|
| Kerala | 14,391 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 995 |
| Manipur | 865 |
| Meghalaya | 803 |
| Nagaland | 713 |
| Mizoram | 643 |
| Goa | 362 |
| Delhi | 263 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 222 |
| Puducherry | 156 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 137 |
| Other states | 216 |
How to read these numbers
Small counts and a second count where needed are withheld for privacy; an omitted value is not zero. Coverage, dates and suppression.
Recorded abroad
Official births registered in 2025, for the exact spelling shown.
| Jurisdiction | Spelling / recorded sex | Births | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| England & Wales | James / M | 1,211 | 42 |
| Scotland | James / M | 199 | 14 |
ONS and National Records of Scotland; Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3. Counts follow each office’s publication rules.
Explore related lists
Sources
- Given-name entry (Wikidata): James ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Given-name spelling
- Historical Indian voter-record totals, v3 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Historical usage; CC0 1.0; birth years 1910–2001
- England & Wales 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling James; Table_6, C47 ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling James; Table_6, C47
- Scotland 2025 birth statistics: Exact spelling James; full-list-1974-2025.csv; 2025 Boy ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Exact spelling James; full-list-1974-2025.csv; 2025 Boy