Jemima
A Hebrew feminine name meaning "dove" or "precious stone".
Name Census estimates that about 1,388 living Americans carry the first name Jemima. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jemima today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jemima births was 2018 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jemima. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.4K
~ 1 in 246,941 Americans
Peak year
2018
64 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,024
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Jemima: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jemima from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 442 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Jemima remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jemima by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Jemima during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jemimas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Florida, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Jemima, while Ohio, Massachusetts, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 46 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jemima
The name Jemima originated from the Hebrew language, derived from the biblical name Yemima, which means "dove" or "little dove." The name is mentioned in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, where Yemima is listed as one of the three daughters of Job, born to him after his trials and tribulations.
The name Jemima first appeared in ancient Hebrew texts, specifically in the Old Testament of the Bible. The Book of Job, believed to have been written around the 6th century BCE, is one of the earliest known references to this name. In the biblical context, Yemima (Jemima) symbolized peace, gentleness, and purity, qualities often associated with doves.
The earliest recorded use of the name Jemima can be traced back to the 17th century. One notable bearer of this name was Jemima Howe (1666-1737), an English-American settler in Massachusetts who was captured by Native Americans during King Philip's War in 1675 and later released.
Another famous Jemima was Jemima Wilkinson (1752-1819), an American preacher and founder of a religious society known as the Universal Friends. She claimed to have died and been reborn as a genderless evangelical prophet, taking on the name "Publick Universal Friend."
In the 19th century, Jemima Wedgwood (1828-1912), a British social reformer and member of the famous Wedgwood family of potters, was a prominent figure. She was actively involved in various educational and charitable initiatives.
Jemima Shore (1801-1876), an English painter and a member of the Royal Academy, was known for her portraits and subject paintings. She was one of the first women to be elected as an Academician at the Royal Academy in 1849.
Jemima Boone (1762-1834), the daughter of the famous American frontiersman Daniel Boone, was born and raised in the Kentucky wilderness. She was captured by Native Americans in 1776 and later released, becoming a symbol of resilience and strength in the face of adversity.
People
Jemima + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jemima as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with J
Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Jemima: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jemima?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,388 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jemima going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 246,941 US residents.
Is Jemima a common name?
We classify Jemima as "Rare". It ranks above 92% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,783 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jemima most popular?
The single biggest year for Jemima was 2018, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jemima is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jemima a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jemima in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.