Jakov
Jakov ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Јаков}}, {{IPA|sh|jâkoʋ|pron}}) is a masculine given name of Biblical origin and a saints' name.{{cite web | url = https://hjp.znanje.hr/index.php?show=search_by_id&id=fVdhURE%3D&keyword=Jakov | language = hr | title = Jȁkov | website = Hrvatski jezični portal | publisher = Znanje and Srce | access-date = 21 February 2025 }} It is cognate to Jakob, Yakov, Jacob and James. It is often found in Croatia and Serbia, and also appears elsewhere.
The name Jacob is of Hebrew origin and means "God protects" and is also a Latin derivative of the original Hebrew name Jakow, which comes from the word Akev and literally translates as "heel".{{citation needed|date=February 2025}}
According to the 2021 population census, 11,555 people with the name Jakov live in Croatia.{{Cite web |title=Ovo se ime na Balkanu pojavilo u 13. stoljeću, a 2023. ga je dobilo čak 488 beba |url=https://www.index.hr/mame/clanak/ovo-se-ime-na-balkanu-pojavilo-u-13-stoljecu-a-2023-ga-je-dobilo-cak-488-beba/2586810.aspx |access-date=2024-09-21 |website=www.index.hr |language=hr}}{{Cite book |last=Čilaš Šimpraga, Ivšić Majić and Vidović |title=Rječnik 500 najčešćih suvremenih hrvatskih osobnih imena |publisher=Institut za hrvatski jezik i jezikoslovlje |pages=31 |language=Hr}}
The nicknames derived from this name include Jakša, Jakica, Jako and Jaki.
Notable people with the name include:
- Jakov (bishop), Serbian medieval archbishop
- Jakov Bienenfeld, Croatian entrepreneur and developer
- Jakov Brdar, Slovenian-Bosnian sculptor
- Jakov Cindro, Croatian politician
- Jakov Fak, Croatian-Slovenian biathlete
- Jakov Filipović, Croatian football player
- Jakov Geller, Russian chess player (cf. list of chess grandmasters)
- Jakov Gojun, Croatian handball player
- Jakov Gotovac, Croatian composer and conductor
- Jakov Grcić, Croatian futsal player
- Jakov Ignjatović, Serbian-Hungarian novelist and prose writer
- Jakov Lind, Austrian-British writer
- Jakov Mikalja, Italian linguist and lexicographer of Slavic ancestry
- Jakov Nenadović, Serbian military commander and politician
- Jakov Sedlar, Croatian film director and producer
- Jakov Surać, Croatian football player
- Jakov Vladović, Croatian basketball player
- Jakov Vranković, Croatian handball player
- Jakov Xoxa, Albanian writer
- Ivan Jakov Džoni, Croatian football player