Iago is another name for Jacob, meaning “heal grabber;” in the Bible, Jacob is Esau’s sly twin who tricks Esau out of his inheritance and then dresses as Esau to recieve his father's blessing.
Just an interesting tid-bit I found. Iago is very sly and cunning and uses trickery to get his way. I bet Shakespeare did that on purpose!
I was interested in your idea of the meaning behind names, so I searched the names of the other characters to see what popped up. Apparently, Desdemona means "wretchedness or ill-fated" and Othello means "wealth". Perhaps Othello's name is in reference to the wealth he lost, Desdemona, who is always talked of as a possession or treasure. I believe Desdemona's name was a foreshadowing of her too short life and sad end. On a side note, it seems very unwise to name your daughter something like "ill-fated". Who thought that was a good idea?
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