The name Jacob is primarily a male name of Hebrew origin that means Supplanter.Common nicknames for the name Jacob include Jake, Coby, and Yaki.Famous Jacobs include Jacob (then Israel) in the Bible’s Book of Genesis. Jacob is also a prophet from the The Book of Mormon from the Church of Latter Day Saints. Jacob of Alexandria was the patriarch from in the early 1860s. Jacob Hubner was a German entomologist and Jacob Miller was a Jamaican reggae singer.