Jeremia
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "Yahweh exalts" or "God exalts".
Name Census estimates that about 696 living Americans carry the first name Jeremia. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Jeremia today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jeremia births was 2012 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jeremia. 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
696
~ 1 in 492,463 Americans
Peak year
2012
27 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,974
Tracked since 1973
Gender
Gender distribution for Jeremia
Jeremia leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jeremia as a male name
- Ranked #7,974 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1978 (23 births)
Jeremia as a female name
- Ranked #18,045 in 2012
- 5 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2011 (5 births)
Popularity
Jeremia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jeremia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 156 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Jeremia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jeremia 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 Jeremia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jeremias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jeremia
The name Jeremia has its origins in the Hebrew language and culture, emerging during biblical times. It is derived from the Hebrew name Yirmeyahu, which means "exalted by Yahweh" or "appointed by God." The name is closely associated with the biblical prophet Jeremiah, whose life and teachings are recorded in the Book of Jeremiah in the Old Testament.
One of the earliest and most notable figures bearing the name Jeremia was Jeremiah, the Hebrew prophet who lived in the 7th century BC during the turbulent times of the Babylonian invasion of Judah. He is revered as one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible and is known for his lamentations over the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Israelites.
In the Middle Ages, the name Jeremia gained popularity among Christian communities, particularly in Europe. It was often given to individuals who were devoted to religious life or held positions within the church. An example is Saint Jeremia of Wallachia, a 14th-century Romanian monk and saint who founded several monasteries in the region.
During the Renaissance period, the name Jeremia was used by various scholars and artists. One notable figure was Jeremia Falck (1610-1677), a Swedish botanist and naturalist who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their classification.
In the 19th century, the name Jeremia was adopted by prominent figures in literature and academia. Jeremia Curtin (1835-1898) was an American translator and linguist who specialized in the study of Irish and Slavic languages, and published numerous works on folklore and mythology.
Another notable figure was Jeremia Donovan (1828-1908), an Irish-American lawyer and politician who served as the Mayor of Lowell, Massachusetts, and played a significant role in the development of the city's infrastructure and education system.
These are just a few examples of individuals who bore the name Jeremia throughout history, each leaving their mark in various fields, from religion and scholarship to politics and the arts. The name has endured across generations, carrying with it a sense of divine appointment and exaltation, reflecting its biblical origins.
People
Jeremia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jeremia 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
Jeremia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jeremia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 696 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jeremia 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 492,463 US residents.
Is Jeremia a common name?
We classify Jeremia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 716 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jeremia most popular?
The single biggest year for Jeremia was 2012, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jeremia is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Jeremia a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Jeremia in the SSA data are male. 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.