Gerhard vs Jacob
Gerhard and Jacobcompared on official birth-registration statistics and Namewise's recorded data. This page states what each name's record shows — it never picks a winner or scores one name against the other.
Head to head
Ranks are only compared within one published list and one year. Two ranks from different years, from a boys' and a girls' list, or from different registrars are not comparable, so they are not placed side by side.
Norway · Boys
In 2001, Gerhard was ranked #542 and Jacob #76 among boys in Norway.
Gerhard and Jacob over time
Gerhard and Jacob appear together in 1 published list, across 32 years of shared records. Jacob held the stronger position in more years in 1 of them, Gerhard in 0.
The order between them changed and held in one of those lists — a change in that published list, never a claim that one name displaced the other.
Gerhard reached its own highest recorded position earlier in 1 of those lists, and Jacob in none. Each position is a place inside its own list, so this compares when they peaked and never how high.
Counted list by list. Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale in the same year, so those comparisons are real — but positions from different lists are not, so nothing here is combined into an overall standing.
How this pair is related
The relationship kinds these two qualify for, each under its own stated rule. Every one is drawn from a list they both appear in.
- Repeatedly exchanged positions
Gerhard and Jacob changed places 11 times in Norway · Boys between 1945 and 2001, ending at #542 and #76.
- Longest-running competitions
Gerhard and Jacob were both ranked in Norway · Boys for 32 years, from 1945 to 2001, ending at #542 and #76.
List by list
Norway · Boys32 shared years, 1945–2001
Gerhard held the stronger position in 11 of those years, Jacob in 21.
Highest recorded here: Gerhard #204 in 1945, Jacob #76 in 2001.
The order changed in 1969: Jacob moved ahead. In 1968 they stood at #386 and #389; by 1969 that had become #566 and #299.
Most recent shared year, 2001: Gerhard #542, Jacob #76.
Two names moving past each other in a ranking is a fact about the ranking. Namewise does not claim one name displaced the other, that families chose between them, or that either influenced the other — none of that is in this data.
Side by side
| Field | Gerhard | Jacob |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Official statistical record (evidence-only) | Editorially researched profile |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | Not yet recorded | Commonly interpreted as 'holder of the heel' or 'supplanter', referencing the biblical account of Jacob being born grasping his twin brother Esau's heel. A less common alternate theory holds it may derive from a longer form meaning roughly 'may God protect'. |
| Origin | Not yet recorded | Biblical Hebrew, via Greek and Latin |
| Pronunciation | Not yet recorded | /ˈdʒeɪkəb/ |
| Syllables | 2 | 2 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | NO | AU-NSW, GB-ENW, GB-NIR, GB-SCT, IE, NO, NZ |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #542 (2001) | New South Wales, Australia · Boys #42 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | Not yet recorded | 90/100 |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 82/100 | 94/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 40/100 | 100/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Jacob has a recorded origin (Biblical Hebrew, via Greek and Latin); Gerhard does not have one recorded yet.
- Gerhard and Jacob both have 2 syllables.
- A meaning is recorded for Jacob; Gerhard doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in NO.
How each name got here
Gerhard
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #204 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2001
Highest recorded position: #204 among boys in Norway, in 1945 (recorded 1945–2001).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2001
Most recently recorded at #542 among boys in Norway, in 2001.
Norway · Boys
Jacob
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #273 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1996–2024
Highest recorded position: #4 among boys in England and Wales, in 2013 (recorded 1996–2024).
England and Wales · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #42 among boys in New South Wales, Australia, in 2025.
New South Wales, Australia · Boys