Jimmye
English masculine name meaning "one who supplants" or "he who supplants".
Name Census estimates that about 145 living Americans carry the first name Jimmye. It is a predominantly female name (95.8% of registrations). The average person named Jimmye today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jimmye births was 1943 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Jimmye. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Jimmye is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Jimmyes were born before 1956.
People living today
145
~ 1 in 2,363,823 Americans
Peak year
1943
28 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1953 SSA rank
#3,261
Tracked since 1915
Census
Jimmye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 253 people with the first name Jimmye, which placed it at #32,947 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
#32,947
National first-name rank
People counted
253
253 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
73.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jimmye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jimmye is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Jimmye 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 Jimmye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.5% · 186
- Black or African American22.1% · 56
- Two or more races2.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Jimmye
Jimmye leans heavily female at 95.8% of total registrations, but 22 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Jimmye as a male name
- Ranked #3,261 in 1953
- 7 male births in 1953
- Peak: 1953 (7 births)
Jimmye as a female name
- Ranked #7,202 in 1964
- 5 female births in 1964
- Peak: 1943 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jimmye leans strongly female. 216 people counted with this name were female (84.7%), compared with 39 male bearers (15.3%).
Popularity
Jimmye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Jimmye from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 162 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Jimmye 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 Jimmye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Jimmyes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Mississippi, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Jimmye, while Oklahoma, Mississippi, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Jimmye
The given name Jimmye is a unique variation of the more common name James, which originated from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov, meaning "supplanter" or "one who follows". This name gained widespread popularity through its association with two prominent biblical figures, Jacob from the Old Testament and the apostle James from the New Testament.
Jimmye is believed to have emerged as a diminutive form of James, particularly in certain regions of the Southern United States. Its distinctive spelling with the additional 'e' at the end likely stems from regional linguistic variations or personal preferences within families.
While the name Jimmye does not have a direct historical reference in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the name James ties it to the rich cultural and religious heritage of the biblical Jacob and the apostle James.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Jimmye can be found in the 19th century. Jimmye Rodgers, born in 1897 and often referred to as the "Father of Country Music," was a significant figure who popularized the name during his influential music career.
Another notable individual with the name Jimmye was Jimmye Rae Lipham, an American professional baseball player who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) during the 1950s and 1960s. Jimmye Rae Lipham was born in 1933 and played for various teams, including the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds.
In the field of literature, Jimmye Cripps Vaughn was an American writer and poet who gained recognition for her work in the mid-20th century. Born in 1923, she published several collections of poetry and received numerous accolades for her contributions to Southern literature.
Jimmye Kimmey, born in 1938, was a successful American businesswoman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to various charitable organizations throughout her career. She was actively involved in supporting education and healthcare initiatives.
Jimmye Sue Waldo, born in 1940, was a prominent figure in the aerospace industry. She worked as an engineer and played a crucial role in the development of various space exploration programs, including the Apollo missions.
While the name Jimmye may not be as common as its root name James, it has been borne by individuals who have left their mark in various fields, ranging from music and sports to literature and business. Its unique spelling and connection to the biblical and historical significance of James make it a distinctive and meaningful name choice.
People
Jimmye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Jimmye 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
Jimmye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Jimmye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 145 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jimmye 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 2,363,823 US residents.
Is Jimmye a common name?
We classify Jimmye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 518 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Jimmye most popular?
The single biggest year for Jimmye was 1943, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jimmye is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Jimmye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 253 people with the name Jimmye, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,947 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 Jimmye 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 Jimmye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Jimmye leans strongly female. 216 people counted with this name were female (84.7%), compared with 39 male bearers (15.3%). 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 Jimmye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Jimmye is White at 73.5%. The next largest groups are Black (22.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Jimmye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Jimmye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.5% (186 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 Jimmye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Jimmye a female name?
Yes, 95.8% of people registered as Jimmye 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 Jimmye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Jimmye 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 Jimmye 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 are called Jimmye?
You can see how many Americans are named Jimmye on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.