(male) English form of the name borne in the New Testament by two of Christ's disciples, James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus. This form comes from Late Latin Iacomus, a variant of Iacobus, Latin form of Greek Iakobos. This is the same name as Old Testament Jacob (Hebrew Yaakov), but for many centuries now they have been thought of in the English-speaking world as two distinct names. In Britain, James is a royal name that from the beginning of the 15th century onwards was associated particularly with the Scottish house of Stewart: James I of Scotland (1394–1437; ruled 1424–37) was a patron of the arts and a noted poet, as well as an energetic ruler. King James VI of Scotland (1566–1625; reigned 1567–1625) succeeded to the throne of England in 1603. His grandson, James II of England (1633–1701; reigned 1685–8) was a Roman Catholic, deposed in 1688 in favour of his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. From then on he, his son (also called James), and his grandson Charles (‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’) made various unsuccessful attempts to recover the English throne. Their supporters were known as Jacobites (from Latin Iacobus), and the name James became for a while particularly associated with Roman Catholicism on the one hand, and Highland opposition to the English government on the other. Nevertheless, it has since become one of the most perennially popular boys' names.
Short form: Jim.
Pet forms: Jamey, Jamie, Jimmy, Jimmie.
Cognates: Irish: Séamas, Séamus, Seumas, Seumus. Scottish Gaelic: Seumas. Scottish (Anglicized); Hamish. Dutch: Jaume. French: Jacques. Spanish: Jaime. Catalan: Jaume. Portuguese: Jaime(s). Italian: Giacomo.
French (western): from a pet form of Martin 1.
English: habitational name from Martineau in France. The name was also taken to England by Huguenot refugees in the 17th century (see below).
FOREBEARS Harriet Martineau (1802–76), the English writer, was the daughter of a Norwich manufacturer. She was descended from a family of French Huguenots who owned land around Poitou and Touraine in the 15th century. They included a number of surgeons in the 17th century. In the 19th century a branch of the family was firmly established in Birmingham, England; others went to North America.
