The name originates from the Hebrew name Yaakov or Jacob (my paternal grandfather’s name) which means supplanter or trickster or holder of the heel. If you are not familiar with Jacob from the Old Testament, when he and his twin brother, Esau, were born Jacob was holding on to Esau’s heel. Later, Jacob supplanted Esau by getting him to sell his birthright for a bowl of lentils. With the help of his mother, Rebecca, they tricked his father, Isaac, into blessing Jacob by dressing him up to make Isaac think he was actually blessing Esau. Jacob flees his brother’s presence, finds a wife, is tricked by his father-in-law (karma?) but eventually God changes his name to Israel and becomes the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. It’s a great story with a lot of twists and turns with some very interesting lessons. See Genesis chapters 25-47 which covers Jacob’s life.
My parents named me James after my father. He is James Raphael. I’m James Michael. I guess we both needed archangels to look after our “particular set of skills”.
Until I became an adult I was known as Jimmy. This, I hated. The reason is that most of my dad’s friends called him Jimmy as well. Whenever I’d answer the phone and someone would ask for Jimmy I would say, “this is” and they would reply, “no, I want to talk to your dad.” Now, only my mother gets away with calling me Jimmy.
No, I’m neither the golfer nor the former mayor of Los Angeles.
Nope, not famous but I’ll take this over fame any day!!!
Thanks for reading!
James M. Hahn, Author 