Yakov is the Hebrew and Russian form of Jacob, from the Hebrew Yaakov, which the Bible explains as "holder of the heel" or "supplanter" because Jacob was born grasping his twin brother's heel. In the United States it is used mainly by Orthodox Jewish families and by immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Yakov stood at number 2195 in 2000, reached number 1195 in 2024 and ranks number 1286 in 2025.