Explore the Family Name Jacobus

The meaning of Jacobus

German and Dutch: from the Latin personal name Jacobus, or a Latinized (humanistic) form of its vernacular variants Jakob and Jacob. This surname is also found in South Africa. In North America, it may also be an altered form of the German variant Jakobus.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Jacobus in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Jacobus has slightly declined in recent years. In 2000, Jacobus was ranked 12,443 in terms of prevalence and had been recorded 2,288 times across the United States. By 2010, its rank had dropped to 12,900, though the count had risen to 2,383. This represents a 4.15% increase in occurrences but a -3.67% change in rank. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw a small decline, falling from 0.85 in 2000 to 0.81 in 2010.

20002010Change
Rank#12,443#12,900-3.67%
Count2,2882,3834.15%
Proportion per 100k0.850.81-4.71%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Jacobus

The ethnic identity associated with the surname Jacobus has seen some shifts between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The largest ethnic group for this surname remained White, even though their percentage fell slightly from 93.97% in 2000 to 92.45% in 2010. There was a significant increase in the Hispanic ethnicity under this surname from 2.01% to 3.44%. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander also rose from 0.61% to 0.76%, while those claiming two or more races increased from 0.87% to 1.17%. The Black ethnicity under the Jacobus surname remained fairly stable, changing slightly from 1.84% to 1.85%. However, there was notable decrease in the American Indian and Alaskan Native category, from 0.70% in 2000 to 0.34% in 2010.

20002010Change
White93.97%92.45%-1.62%
Hispanic2.01%3.44%71.14%
Black1.84%1.85%0.54%
Two or More Races0.87%1.17%34.48%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.61%0.76%24.59%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.7%0.34%-51.43%

Jacobus ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Jacobus is British & Irish, which comprises 37.4% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (29.7%) and Ashkenazi Jewish (8.7%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Eastern European, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, and Korean.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish37.4%
French & German29.7%
Ashkenazi Jewish8.7%
Other24.2%
Jacobus

Possible origins of the surname Jacobus

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Jacobus have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Glasgow City, United Kingdom83.60%
Merseyside, United Kingdom83.60%
Lancashire, United Kingdom83.60%
Greater London, United Kingdom83.60%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom82.20%

What Jacobus haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Jacobus is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Jacobus surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

jacobusPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara

Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Jacobus have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Jacobus

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Jacobus" Surname 70.0%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Jacobus

Acrophobia

An intense fear of heights that goes beyond the concern many people feel around significant heights.

"Jacobus" Surname 20.0%

23andMe Users 16.7%

Habits

Jacobus

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Jacobus" Surname 21.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Jacobus

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Jacobus" Surname 11.1%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Jacobus?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Jacobus are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%