(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.
English: 1. nickname for a person with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from Middle English re(a)d ‘red’. 2. topographic name for someone who lived in a clearing, from an unattested Old English rīed, rȳd ‘woodland clearing’. 3. habitational name from various places: Read in Lancashire, the name of which is a contracted form of Old English rǣghēafod, from rǣge ‘female roe deer’, ‘she-goat’ + hēafod ‘head(land)’; Rede in Suffolk, so called from Old English hrēod ‘reeds’; or Reed in Hertfordshire, so called from an Old English ryhð ‘brushwood’.
FOREBEARS A family called Read were established in America in the early 18th century by John Read, who was born in Dublin, sixth in descent from Sir Thomas Read of Berkshire, England. His son, George Read (1733–98), was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and as a lawyer helped frame the Constitution.
