Jermayne
A masculine name of French origin meaning "strong, robust traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 376 living Americans carry the first name Jermayne. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jermayne today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jermayne births was 1972 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jermayne. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Jermayne with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
376
~ 1 in 911,581 Americans
Peak year
1972
17 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,101
Tracked since 1972
Census
Jermayne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 306 people with the first name Jermayne, which placed it at #29,088 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#29,088
National first-name rank
People counted
306
306 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jermayne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jermayne is Black at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.5%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Jermayne described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Jermayne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.5% · 225
- Two or more races9.5% · 29
- Hispanic or Latino6.2% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 13
- White3.3% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.3% · 10
Popularity
Jermayne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jermayne from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 89 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jermayne 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 Jermayne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jermaynes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Jermayne
The name Jermayne is an English variant of the French name Germain, which derives from the Latin name Germanus, meaning "brother" or "of the same stock." This name was initially widespread among early Christians, as it referred to the concept of spiritual brotherhood within the faith.
The earliest recorded use of the name Germanus dates back to the 4th century AD, when it was borne by St. Germanus of Auxerre (378-448), a renowned French bishop and missionary who played a crucial role in halting the spread of Pelagianism, a heretical movement that denied the doctrine of original sin. His influence and reputation as a defender of orthodoxy contributed to the popularization of this name among Christians.
Another notable figure bearing this name was St. Germanus of Paris (496-576), a French bishop celebrated for his role in establishing the Parisian cathedral school and his efforts in promoting education. His feast day is observed on May 28th in the Catholic Church, further solidifying the association of this name with Christian devotion.
During the Middle Ages, the name Germanus underwent various spelling variations, including Germain, Germaine, and Jermayne. One notable bearer of the latter variant was Jermayne of Lothian (c. 1155-1219), a Scottish nobleman and military leader who fought alongside King William the Lion during the Wars of Scottish Independence.
In the Renaissance period, the name Jermayne gained further prominence with Jermayne Blackwood (1548-1612), an English playwright and poet who was part of the literary circle around Sir Philip Sidney. His works, though largely forgotten today, reflect the artistic and cultural vibrancy of the Elizabethan era.
Moving into the modern era, the name Jermayne has been associated with several notable figures, such as Jermayne Parker (1905-1992), an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader who performed with luminaries like Duke Ellington and Count Basie. Jermayne Dethick (1926-2002), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, also carried this name.
It's worth noting that while the name Jermayne has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, it has never been among the most widely used given names. Nevertheless, its rich heritage and associations with Christian devotion, nobility, and artistic expression have contributed to its enduring appeal as a unique and meaningful choice.
People
Jermayne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jermayne 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
Jermayne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jermayne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 376 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jermayne 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 911,581 US residents.
Is Jermayne a common name?
We classify Jermayne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 389 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jermayne most popular?
The single biggest year for Jermayne was 1972, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jermayne is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jermayne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 306 people with the name Jermayne, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #29,088 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Jermayne in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Jermayne?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jermayne leans strongly male. 277 people counted with this name were male (91.7%), compared with 25 female bearers (8.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Jermayne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jermayne is Black at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (9.5%) and Hispanic (6.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Jermayne most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Jermayne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (225 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Jermayne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jermayne a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jermayne 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.
Is Jermayne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jermayne 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 Jermayne 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.
How many people have Jermayne as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Jermayne on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.