Jacoby
A surname meaning “son of Jacob,” formed from the biblical given name Jacob.
The #3,776 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,943 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jacoby is a patronymic surname built on the personal name Jacob, ultimately from Hebrew Ya‘aqov. In medieval English and German usage, it could function as a hereditary family name meaning “descendant of Jacob” or “son of Jacob.” The spelling with -y at the end is a common surname formation rather than a separate root.
History
Bardsley notes that Jacoby was already established as a personal name in 13th-century England, so the surname is not necessarily exclusively Jewish in origin. Later surname lists also treat it as a regular derivative of Jacob, alongside Jacobs and Jacobson. In English-speaking countries it has been used both by Jewish families and by non-Jewish families with medieval English roots.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The 19th-century surname writer C. W. Bardsley specifically warns that names like Jacob and Jacoby were not always Jewish, even when they looked that way in city directories.
From the historical record
“sons of purely English descent. The same remark applies to Jacob and possibly to Jacoby. The last was well established as a personal name in the 13th century, Thomaa Jacoby, CO. Camb., 1J71. A”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances