The origins of the Jacob breed are obscure, to say the least. There are almost as many stories about where they came from as there are story tellers. They are a British breed, and all the animals in the United States have been brought here in just a few importations in the past several decades. Prior to the twentieth century they were referred to as Piebald sheep; the name Jacob comes from the Old Testament story of the dealings between Jacob and his father-in-law Laban. This Biblical story of Jacob's striving to achieve spotted sheep and goats is thought to be the earliest record of selective breeding. Until recent times, Jacobs were kept only at a few large estates in England. In spite of some of the more fanciful tales, it appears that their black and white coloring may have originated with Moorish sheep brought from Spain or Africa and their four-horned characteristics from Norse sheep from Scandinavia and the northern Scottish islands. Certainly there are sheep in North Africa with black and white fleeces like the Jacob, and there are other British breeds with four horns, particularly in the northern and coastal regions.