Meaning and history
Yakov is a Russian and Hebrew transcription of Jacob. Jacob comes from Hebrew Yaʿaqov; Genesis connects it with “heel” because Jacob is born holding Esau’s heel, while later wordplay gives “supplanter.” Jacob is renamed Israel and becomes ancestor of the twelve tribes, giving the name central Jewish and biblical importance. Notable bearers include Soviet physicist Yakov Zeldovich and Russian mathematician Yakov Sinai.
20062006: 73 births, rank #1,856
2007: 91 births, rank #1,669
2008: 91 births, rank #1,679
2009: 114 births, rank #1,459
2010: 86 births, rank #1,752
20112011: 108 births, rank #1,495
2012: 104 births, rank #1,535
2013: 102 births, rank #1,546
2014: 90 births, rank #1,691
2015: 114 births, rank #1,468
20162016: 113 births, rank #1,501
2017: 113 births, rank #1,488
2018: 130 births, rank #1,360
2019: 114 births, rank #1,494
2020: 121 births, rank #1,423
20212021: 118 births, rank #1,503
2022: 140 births, rank #1,341
2023: 123 births, rank #1,465
2024: 172 births, rank #1,193
20252025: 153 births, rank #1,281
In 2025, 153 babies were recorded with the name Yakov, ranking #1,281 among boys.