James or Jim Forbes may refer to:
Politicians
James Alexander Forbes (1805–1881), British vice-consul to Mexican California and founder of the town of Los Gatos James Forbes (statesman) (c. 1731–1780), U.S. statesman, Continental Congressman for Maryland James Fraser Forbes (1820–1887), Canadian Member of Parliament James Randy Forbes (born 1952), U.S. Representative from Virginia Jim Forbes (Australian politician) (1923–2019), former Australian politician
Sportspeople
James Forbes (basketball) (1952–2022), U.S. basketball player, Olympic silver medalist Jim C. Forbes (1908–1981), Australian rules footballer for St Kilda Jim Forbes (footballer) (1908–1996), Australian rules footballer for South Melbourne
Military
James Forbes (hospital inspector) (1779–1837), Scottish inspector-general of army hospitals James Forbes, 17th Lord Forbes (1765–1843), Scottish colonel James Forbes-Robertson (1884–1955), English recipient of the Victoria Cross for his service in World War I
Religion
James Forbes (divine) (c. 1629–1712), Scottish nonconformist minister
James Forbes (minister) (1813–1851), Australian clergyman and educator
James A. Forbes (born 1935), senior minister of New York's Riverside Church
Others
James Forbes, 16th Lord Forbes (died 1804), Scottish nobleman
James Forbes (artist) (1749–1819), British artist
James Forbes (botanist) (1773–1861), British gardener and botanist
James Forbes (portrait painter) (1797–1881), Scottish-American portrait painter
James David Forbes (1809–1868), Scottish physicist
James Staats Forbes (1823–1904), Scottish railway engineer, railway administrator and art collector James Forbes (playwright) (1871–1938), Canadian-American writer James Forbes (storekeeper) (1828–1906), early Western Australian settler Jim Forbes (journalist) (born 1955), American writer, producer and correspondent James Edwin Forbes (1876–1955), British architect