Is there an English equivalent to the name “Diego”?
Yes, it is, indeed, James: The short answer is that languages change over time, and the original name of Ya’akov in Hebrew changed in different directions in Spanish and English. In fact, both Spanish and English have several variations of that old Hebrew name, of which James and Diego are the most common, so technically there are several ways you could translate those names from one language to another. As you might be able to guess if you’re familiar with the characters of the Bible, Ya’akov was the name given to a grandson of Abraham, a name given in modern English and Spanish Bibles as Jacob. That name itself has an interesting origin: Ya’akov, which may have meant “may he protect” or something similar, appears to be a word play on the Hebrew for “heel.” According to the book of Genesis, Jacob was holding the heel of his twin brother Esau when the two were born. The name Ya’acov became Iakobos in Greek. If you keep in mind that in some languages the sounds of b and v are quite simi
