Instead of trying to guess how they spelled or misspelled his name, why not try using the information you know. He would have been around 17 at the time - fill in only the last name, sex and age plus or minus 1 year and see what you get. Limiting it to Liverpool I get back 17 records - no James of any sort.

When I remove Liverpool I get a James, 17, listed as being born in Lanc St Helens - St Helens seems to be quite close to Liverpool and there are quite a number of McCormicks there working at a bottle works...

What exactly does it say on the birth certificate? Any addresses? Does he have brothers? Sisters? What are his father's & mother's names? Ages in 1901? Do you know his occupation? If you could find brothers, sisters, parents with this same odd district name Lanc St Helens, that would be a big clue...

Just some ideas for your search.

BB