Jemya
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a Scandinavian source.
Name Census estimates that about 107 living Americans carry the first name Jemya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Jemya today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jemya births was 2007 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jemya. 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
107
~ 1 in 3,203,312 Americans
Peak year
2007
15 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2010 SSA rank
#14,131
Tracked since 1998
Popularity
Jemya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jemya from the 1990s through to the 2010s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 87 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jemya 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 Jemya during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jemya
The name Jemya has its origins in ancient Mesopotamia, specifically in the Sumerian language. It is derived from the Sumerian word "jem," which means "life" or "breath." The earliest recorded use of this name dates back to around 2500 BCE, during the height of the Sumerian civilization.
In Sumerian mythology, Jemya was the name given to a minor deity associated with the concept of life force or vitality. This deity was often depicted in artworks and inscriptions as a symbol of fertility and renewal. The name Jemya was likely bestowed upon children as a way of invoking the blessings of this deity and wishing for a long, prosperous life.
The name Jemya can also be found in ancient Akkadian texts from the same region, suggesting that it was adopted by the Akkadian culture as well. During the reign of the Akkadian King Sargon the Great (2334-2279 BCE), there are records of a high-ranking official named Jemya who served as a trusted advisor to the king.
As the Sumerian and Akkadian cultures gave way to the Babylonian and Assyrian empires, the name Jemya fell out of widespread use. However, it resurfaced briefly during the Parthian period (247 BCE - 224 CE) in ancient Persia. One notable figure from this time was Jemya of Ctesiphon, a renowned scholar and philosopher who wrote extensively on the subjects of ethics and metaphysics.
In the early centuries of the Common Era, the name Jemya appeared sporadically in various regions of the Middle East and North Africa. One of the earliest documented cases is Jemya al-Basri, a celebrated Islamic scholar and theologian who lived in Basra (present-day Iraq) during the 7th century CE.
Another notable figure was Jemya ibn Ishaq al-Tujibī, a renowned mathematician and astronomer from 10th century Spain. Al-Tujibī made significant contributions to the field of trigonometry and authored several influential works on the subject.
In the later medieval period, the name Jemya resurfaced in parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong historical ties to the Mediterranean. One notable example is Jemya de Castellon, a 13th-century poet and troubadour from the Kingdom of Aragon (present-day Spain).
While the name Jemya has largely fallen out of common usage in modern times, it remains a fascinating glimpse into the rich cultural and linguistic heritage of ancient civilizations in the Middle East and the Mediterranean region.
People
Jemya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jemya 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
Jemya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jemya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 107 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jemya 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 3,203,312 US residents.
Is Jemya a common name?
We classify Jemya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 109 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jemya most popular?
The single biggest year for Jemya was 2007, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jemya is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jemya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jemya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jemya 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.
Is Jemya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jemya in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jemya can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Jemya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.