Jakub
This Slavic name carries an old meaning: supplanter, the one who holds the heel. It sits at number 17 among Polish boys today, familiar enough that most people know several.
Jakub Pronunciation
Jakub is pronounced YAH-koop (/ˈjakup/).
What Jakub means
Where Jakub comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Jakub belongs to the family of Slavic names common in Poland. The meaning that follows it, holder of the heel, in English supplanter, comes from an old story of twins, one of them born gripping the other's heel. That sense was attached to the name long before it settled into its Polish spelling.
The name lives in more than one shape. Jakub is the full form. Kuba is what the same boy answers to among friends, warmer and shorter. Jakob is the variant that leans toward the German spelling, still the same name underneath.
Call the register in a Polish classroom and a Jakub or two will answer. On the 25th of July the calendar marks his imieniny, the feast of Saint James the Apostle, and Kuba gets his slice of cake. The name has meant supplanter, the one who holds the heel.
When Jakub celebrates name day
Jakub appears 31 times in the Polish name day calendar, 8 of them as a main name, the first on 9 February.
The days Polish calendars list this name on. By custom you celebrate one of them, usually the first after your birthday.
Rarer dates. Only the most complete calendars add this name on these days. Most skip them, so hardly anyone celebrates then.
-
in 95 days28 JanuaryThursday in 2027
-
in 103 days5 FebruaryFriday in 2027
-
in 105 days7 FebruarySunday in 2027
-
in 110 days12 FebruaryFriday in 2027
-
in 111 days13 FebruarySaturday in 2027
-
in 120 days22 FebruaryMonday in 2027
-
in 129 days3 MarchWednesday in 2027
-
in 160 days3 AprilSaturday in 2027
-
in 174 days17 AprilSaturday in 2027
-
in 184 days27 AprilTuesday in 2027
-
in 186 days29 AprilThursday in 2027
-
in 188 days1 MaySaturday in 2027
-
in 223 days5 JuneSaturday in 2027
-
in 226 days8 JuneTuesday in 2027
-
in 253 days5 JulyMonday in 2027
-
in 262 days14 JulyWednesday in 2027
-
in 302 days23 AugustMonday in 2027
-
in 312 days2 SeptemberThursday in 2027
-
in 319 days9 SeptemberThursday in 2027
-
in 361 days21 OctoberThursday in 2027
-
in 7 days1 NovemberSunday in 2026
-
in 25 days19 NovemberThursday in 2026
-
in 33 days27 NovemberFriday in 2026
How many people are named Jakub
1 in 50 men in Poland is named Jakub. 430,519 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #17 among male names.
Jakub's popularity over time
3,386 boys were given the name in 2025, ranking #14 among newborns. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Where parents choose Jakub
Jakub is most popular in Podlaskie, 18% above the national average (1,399 boys born 2019–2025), followed by Subcarpathian (+14%) and Lesser Poland (+12%). It is least common in Greater Poland and Lubusz, 20% and 13% below average respectively.
-
Podlaskie
+18%1 in 47 babies
-
Subcarpathian
+14%1 in 49 babies
-
Lesser Poland
+12%1 in 50 babies
-
Greater Poland
−20%1 in 69 babies
-
Lubusz
−13%1 in 64 babies
-
Pomeranian
−10%1 in 62 babies
-
Podlaskie+18% 1,399 born1 in 47 babies+18%
-
Subcarpathian+14% 2,468 born1 in 49 babies+14%
-
Lesser Poland+12% 4,577 born1 in 50 babies+12%
-
Silesian+12% 4,569 born1 in 50 babies+12%
-
Lublin+11% 2,048 born1 in 50 babies+11%
-
Holy Cross+10% 1,101 born1 in 50 babies+10%
-
Opole+8% 899 born1 in 51 babies+8%
-
Łódź+1% 2,293 born1 in 55 babies+1%
-
Lower Silesian±0% 2,831 born1 in 56 babies±0%
-
Kuyavian-Pomeranian−3% 1,905 born1 in 57 babies−3%
-
Warmian-Masurian−6% 1,217 born1 in 59 babies−6%
-
West Pomeranian−7% 1,418 born1 in 60 babies−7%
-
Masovian−8% 5,882 born1 in 60 babies−8%
-
Pomeranian−10% 2,390 born1 in 62 babies−10%
-
Lubusz−13% 781 born1 in 64 babies−13%
-
Greater Poland−20% 3,102 born1 in 69 babies−20%
Jakub as a middle name
Jakub is a first name for 430,519 men in Poland and a middle name for another 137,852, a 76/24 split. In the men's middle-name ranking it sits 22nd, between Marian (145,747) and Zbigniew (133,181).
-
#20 Franciszek145,791
-
#21 Marian145,747
-
#22 Jakub137,852
-
#23 Zbigniew133,181
-
#24 Robert129,369