Jamese
Feminine
Jamese is a man's name with a silent e on the end, and that is a real device rather than a slip. English has no way of making a feminine form, so speakers improvise, and the commonest improvisation is to add a letter that does nothing.
How old is the name Jamese?
Jamese first appears in US birth records in 1968 — 57 years ago. The typical Jamese alive today was born around 1994, making them about 31 years old. About 800 people named Jamese are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jamese most popular?
Jamese peaked in 1985, reaching #3419 nationally. See the whole 1985 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Jamese
Languages with grammatical gender make a feminine by rule and nobody thinks about it. English has to borrow: the -a of Roberta and Paula is Latin, the -ine of Josephine and Geraldine is French, the -ette of Antoinette is French again. When none of those fits, English speakers reach for a silent e, on the reasonable ground that a final e makes a word look feminine in French and costs nothing to say. The result is a name that is identical in speech to the man's name it came from and distinct on paper, which may be exactly what was wanted, and which the record cannot confirm because nobody wrote down the reasoning.
Meaningnot established
Not established
James descends through Latin from the Hebrew name behind Jacob, and that line is documented. This feminine form is not documented anywhere, and it is not clear whether the e was intended to be sounded.
Pronouncing Jamese
juh-MEES
Two syllables with the weight on the second, giving the final e a light sound. Some families say it exactly like James, with the e silent.
Nicknames for Jamese
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1968
- Most girls named
- 199831 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3419reached in 1985
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%6 in 2018, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jameses among us
people named Jamese are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Jamese sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Jamie is available as a short form and works for a child of either sex.
- The name it is built on is one of the best established in English.
- The spelling is short and easy to write once the reading is settled.
- Two readings are in circulation, one with the e sounded and one without, and the spelling settles neither.
- It will be read as James with a typing slip by a great many people.
- No origin is documented for the feminine, so the meaning question belongs to the man's name.
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Jamese
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jameses are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Jamese are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jamese in 2025?
- Jamese is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jamese with classmates?
- Jamese will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More J names
The most-given names starting with J, all years combined.
Jennifer#586 · Jessica#665 · Janet#2778 · Julie#872 · Joyce#1071 · Joan#1085 · Julia#131 · Jean#2117
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jamese? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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