James is the English form of Jacob, and three important men in the New Testament bore it: James the son of Zebedee, one of the inner three and the first apostle to be martyred; James the son of Alphaeus; and James the brother of the Lord, who led the Jerusalem church and wrote the practical letter that insists faith without works is dead.
That last James, once a doubter, was transformed by the resurrection into a pillar of the church, so devoted to prayer his knees were said to be calloused. The letter bearing his name is the Proverbs of the New Testament.
James is a perennial royal favourite — dignified, timeless, and warmly shortened to Jamie or Jim.
Variants & nicknames
Jim, Jamie, Jacob, Jaime, Diego, Santiago
James in the Bible
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.