Jakob vs Johannes
Jakob and Johannescompared 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 2025, Jakob was ranked #9 and Johannes #8 among boys in Norway.
England and Wales · Boys
In 2025, Jakob was ranked #1124 and Johannes #2952 among boys in England and Wales.
Jakob and Johannes over time
Jakob and Johannes appear together in 2 published lists, across 111 years of shared records. Neither was ahead in more lists than the other.
In none of those lists did their order change and stay changed.
Each reached its own highest recorded position first in 1 of the lists they share.
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
Jakob and Johannes changed places 14 times in Norway · Boys between 1945 and 2025, ending at #9 and #8.
- Longest-running competitions
Jakob and Johannes were both ranked in England and Wales · Boys for 30 years, from 1996 to 2025, ending at #1124 and #2952.
List by list
Norway · Boys81 shared years, 1945–2025
Jakob held the stronger position in 10 of those years, Johannes in 71.
Highest recorded here: Jakob #6 in 2019, Johannes #6 in 2024.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Jakob #9, Johannes #8.
England and Wales · Boys30 shared years, 1996–2025
Jakob held the stronger position in 30 of those years, Johannes in 0.
Highest recorded here: Jakob #287 in 2000, Johannes #1168 in 1996.
The order between them never changed and held in this list.
Most recent shared year, 2025: Jakob #1124, Johannes #2952.
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 | Jakob | Johannes |
|---|---|---|
| Record type | Editorially researched profile | Official statistical record (evidence-only) |
| Gender usage | male | male |
| Meaning | A form of Jacob (or James) used across Germanic and Scandinavian languages, from the Hebrew Ya'akov. | Not yet recorded |
| Origin | Hebrew, via German/Scandinavian transmission | Not yet recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈjɑː.kɔp/ | |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| Common variants / nicknames | Not yet recorded | Not yet recorded |
| Recorded regional usage | GB-ENW, GB-NIR, IE, NO, NZ | GB-ENW, NO |
| Most recent popularity observation | Norway · Boys #9 (2025) | Norway · Boys #8 (2025) |
| Pronunciation clarity (demonstration score) | 90/100 | Not yet recorded |
| Spelling simplicity (demonstration score) | 94/100 | 76/100 |
| International familiarity (demonstration score) | 100/100 | 60/100 |
| Data Confidence | medium | medium |
What the data shows
- Jakob has a recorded origin (Hebrew, via German/Scandinavian transmission); Johannes does not have one recorded yet.
- Jakob has 2 syllables, compared with 3 for Johannes.
- A meaning is recorded for Jakob; Johannes doesn't have one written yet.
- Both names have recorded usage in GB-ENW, NO.
How each name got here
Jakob
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #150 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #6 among boys in Norway, in 2019 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #1124 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys
Johannes
Popularity journey
First recorded1945
First recorded at #75 among boys in Norway in 1945 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Norway · Boys
Highest recorded1945–2025
Highest recorded position: #6 among boys in Norway, in 2024 (recorded 1945–2025).
Norway · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #2952 among boys in England and Wales, in 2025.
England and Wales · Boys