An English surname from the name of Jacob with James meaning son of Jacob. Most places in the world use the two names; James and Jacob interchangeably. In the English language the two names are clearly separate. The Latin form of Jacobus later became Jaime and then James. The Spanish form of James was Jacobo.

Three added spellings for James include Jamieson, Jackman, Jamison and Jameson.

In the United Kingdom, it is Wales with the greatest numbers of James families. Most in Wales are along the western coastal counties, especially Glamorgan. In England there are James families in London and many along the counties bordering Wales, and then into Lancashire and Yorkshire counties. Scotland has a few counties with the James surname, but most are in the Lanarkshire region. Australia and Canada have a good number of individuals with the James surname because of the British influence when they were colonies of Great Britain.

Within the United States the James surname is located all along the southeastern states from Virginia to Texas. There are many in New York, Ohio, Illinois, California and Missouri.

Famous: Angharad James (18th century Welsh poet), Brad James (professional baseball player), Butch James (South African rugby player), Harry James (big band musician), Joe James (race car driver), Richard T. James (co-inventor of the Slinky toy), Tommy James (musician), Lennie James (English actor), John James (18th century English architect), David James (South African actor) and Don James (Nintendo video games).