James or Jacob?

[jamjar10]

What are your thoughts?

James too boring, Jacob trendier but too popular? What would be preferable out there nowadays?

Love both

I don’t find james boring

Are you looking for suggestions I’m unclear from your message

Our babies name is going to be one of these 2 names, i was just wondering what is preferable to the majority of the mumsnet community. some days a wake up and think James is great the next day i think Jacobs great.

They are both wonderful names. Personally I know a lot of people called James which would swing the pendulum in favour of Jacob.

Have you thought about shortened versions?

I slightly prefer the full name James to Jacob. But I far prefer the abbreviation Jake to Jim or Jimmy.

Yes, constantly thinking about it. I dont mind mind Jamie or Jay but really dislike Jimmy/Jim. Jake im not mad on either tbh

We have a James in extended family. Has only ever been called James.

I like both but prefer Jacob.

My husband is James but never called it, growing up he was Jamie but hated it. Now, he's Jim. Another James I knew was known as Jay.
I love jacob

Jacob.

The 2 adult men called James that I know have never shortened it

I really love both James and Jacob and don’t think I could choose

If you want to go for the less popular option amongst his peers then pick James. It’s outside the top 20 now and on a downward trajectory ! I think it’s a great name

Is Jacob really popular at the moment? I dont know any Jacobs my age. Knows lots of James' but this is our first child so not sure what the scoop is. would he actually be more individual with James nowadays?

I don't know of any really young James, only teenagers and above

Both are popular. Jacob will be Jake.
Not keen on Jay. Jim and Jamie are ok, but he will be one or the other (like Michael will be Mick or Mike)

Love James. I like Michael too.

I think Jacob is nice but there are so many OT names around now.

I much prefer James. It's classic & timeless. Well, I suppose Jacob is too, but it's not as nice as James

James

@jamjar10 James is more unusual these days
In 2018 there were 2,500 babies born named James. It was number 21 in the charts and is falling in popularity every year for past 20 years so by the time your baby arrives there will be even less babies being called James in 2020

There were around 3,300 babies named Jacob born in 2018 and it’s number 11 in the charts. That name is also on a downward trajectory though so there will be less in 2020 than there have been in previous years. Neither name is going to suddenly boom this year based on the trajectory over the past 10-20 years.

Hope this helps, ive based it on ONS official data

@jamjar10 my answer to your question is that yes James is more unusual than Jacob in today’s classrooms

Both names were more popular 5-10 years ago so if you hear people saying “oh there’s loads of James/Jacobs at my child’s school” then put that into context with the actual data which shows both names on the decline, which I think it a very good thing if you’re worried about popularity

James. Great name

Thanks for the info everyone, really helpful. @PlantPotting that is really good to know thank you so much.

No problem at all @jamjar10 I’m a real name nerd (can you tell 🤣!!) so find the statistics very interesting.
Which name are you swaying towards? I love both

I think James is going to be the most likely now! I also love both!

I love both names.
I like Jake as a nickname for Jacob, and I would suggest that if you don't like Jake, you use James instead.
James doesn't need to be shortened as it's only one syllable to start with, but he could be Jay which is cool.

James is a great name. I like Jake, but having taught ALL the Jacobs 10 years ago, I dislike it now.

I love the name James. If I had picked English names I would have a James. Jacob is also lovely, but James isn’t a name
I have come across in my DC peer groups ever whereas I have plenty of Jacob and Jakes.

I like James better, but Jacob is a good name too.

(And incidentally, James and Jacob are both versions of the same name)