The name James is derived from the same Hebrew name as Jacob, meaning "holds the heel" (in the Genesis narrative, Jacob was born grasping Esau′s heel and later bought his birthright).
The name came into English language from the Old French variation James[1] of the late Latin name, Iacomus; a dialect variant of Iacobus, from the New Testament Greek Ἰάκωβος (Iákōbos), from Hebrew יעקב (Yaʻaqov). The development Iacobus > Iacomus is likely a result of nasalization of the o and assimilation to the following b (i.e., intermediate *Iacombus) followed by simplification of the cluster mb through loss of the b. Diminutives include: Jim, Jimmy, Jimmie, Jamie, Jimbo, Jamey, and others. It may be abbreviated to "Jay".