Iakovos as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Iakovos

What is the meaning of the name Iakovos ?

The baby name Iakovos is a Male name , 3 syllables long and is pronounced /ˈja.ko.vos/ (YAH-koh-vos).

Iakovos is Greek in Origin.

Rooted in the Hebrew Yaʿaqov (יַעֲקֹב), Iakovos is the Greek New Testament form of a name meaning “heel-holder” or “supplanter,” recalling the biblical Jacob born grasping his brother’s heel. Koine Greek distinguished Iakōb (the patriarch) and Iákovos (apostolic bearers), and through Latin Iacobus/Iacomus the name later yielded both English Jacob and James, as well as their many European offshoots. In Greek-speaking and Orthodox contexts, Iakovos remained a steady choice, honored for apostles James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus, James the Brother of the Lord, and later saints; in the diaspora it gained visibility through Archbishop Iakovos of America.

Variants and cognates include Greek Ιάκωβος with transliterations Iakovos, Yakovos, or Iacovos; Jacob, James, Jacques, Giacomo, Jakub, Yakov, Jacobo, Diego/Santiago, Tiago/Iago, Seamus, and Hamish. Feminine counterparts appear as Jacoba/Jacobina and, in Greek, the rare Iakovina.