Jemima

Where Jemima comes from

From the name of a minor biblical character, from Hebrew יְמִימָה (“dove”). By folk etymology also used as a feminine form of James.
— Wiktionary's entry for Jemima
  • Hebrew
  • 3 syllables
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1881
    First appearance
    #830 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1885
    Peak, #695
    10 babies named Jemima — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1886
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  4. 1984
    Jemima Sumgong born
    Kenyan long-distance runner
  5. 1985
    Jemima Kirke born
    British-American artist and actress
In the dictionary
  • A female given name from Hebrew.
Namesakes
  • Jemima Sumgong · Kenyan long-distance runner, born 1984
  • Jemima Kirke · British-American artist and actress, born 1985
  • Jemima Osunde · Nigerian actress, born 1996
  • Jemima Goldsmith · British screenwriter, television, film and documentary producer, born 1974
  • Jemima Montag · Australian racewalker, born 1998

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.