Jamie
Masculine · “From Hebrew Ya'aqov”
Jamie is given to both — 88,654 boys and 270,936 girls since 1880. See Jamie as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Jamie is the Scottish way of shortening James, formed with the same fond -ie ending that gave Scots Robbie, Davie and Annie. It has been used as a name in its own right for generations rather than only as a nickname, and it still charts in Scotland as well as here. Two syllables, no silent letters, and almost nobody has to ask how to say it.
How old is the name Jamie?
Jamie first appears in US birth records in 1896 — 129 years ago. The typical Jamie alive today was born around 1978, making them about 47 years old. About 80,000 people named Jamie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jamie most popular?
Jamie peaked in 1975, reaching #62 nationally. Today it ranks #577, 515 places below that high. See the whole 1975 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ya'aqov to Jamie
The story of Jamie
The line begins with Hebrew Ya'aqov, which Greek-speaking translators rendered Iakobos and Latin later softened to Iacomus — the step that turns a hard -b into the -m of James. Carried into English after the Norman period, James became a Scottish royal name through the Stewart kings, one of whom, James VI of Scotland, took the English throne as James I in 1603. Scots speakers clipped it and added the affectionate -ie, and Jamie went from pet form to standalone name, crossing to America and holding a place on the records here for well over a century. In the United States it has run in both directions — reaching boys straight from James, and girls through the same route plus the mid-century fashion for -ie names on daughters.
Meaningscholars disagree
From Hebrew Ya'aqov — 'heel' or 'supplanter'
Jamie inherits its meaning from James, and James from the Hebrew name Ya'aqov (Jacob). The traditional reading ties it to the word for heel, and so 'one who follows' or 'supplanter' — the sense given in the Genesis account of Jacob's birth. A second scholarly reading treats Ya'aqov as a shortened theophoric name meaning something like 'may God protect'. Both are seriously held; neither has pushed the other out.
How the name formed
- Ya'aqov
- Iakobos
- Iacomus
- James
- Jamie
Related forms: James · Jaime · Séamus · Seumas · Jacques · Giacomo
Pronouncing Jamie
JAY-mee
Two syllables, stress on the first. Note that the Spanish cousin Jaime is said HIGH-meh, which occasionally causes a double take on paper.
Nicknames for Jamie
High
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
- 1896
- Most boys named
- 19754,573 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #62reached in 1975
- Change vs 2023
- +7.4%508 in 2025, from 473
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.
Jamie in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- James in English — related form
- Jaime in Spanish — related form
- Séamus in Irish — related form
- Seumas in Scottish Gaelic — related form
- Jacques in French — related form
- Giacomo in Italian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. International figures from National Records of Scotland. Sources
Jamies among us
people named Jamie are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 3,362 born in 2025 was named Jamie
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Victor test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Jamie's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Victor climbed just as high around 1918, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Victor's path sketches the road Jamie is walking now.
Jamie is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jamie is headed
Jamie should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jamie beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jamie in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Needs no nickname — it is already the friendly form, so it arrives ready-made and short.
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, and familiar enough that most people write it correctly the first time.
- An unbroken presence on American records stretching back to the nineteenth century, so it never reads as newly coined.
- Works in both English and Scots usage and still charts in Scotland, which helps with family across the Atlantic.
- Sits comfortably on a boy or a girl, with James, Jameson or Jamila available as a longer legal form if wanted.
- It genuinely goes both ways. A Jamie on a class list or a job application may be assumed to be the other sex until they walk in — rarely a problem, but worth knowing in advance.
- Jaime, Jayme and Jami all exist, so expect an occasional correction, and expect Jaime in particular to be read the Spanish way, HIGH-meh.
- The -ie ending stays informal for life. Some parents put James or Jameson on the birth certificate and use Jamie every day, which keeps a more formal option in reserve.
- It is still strongly represented among adults now in their middle years, so a child may meet grown Jamies more often than child ones — though on current form that gap is narrowing.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Jamie
Masculine · #577 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jamies are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 80,000 people named Jamie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jamie in 2025?
- Jamie ranks #577 among US boy names in 2025, with 508 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jamie?
- About 1 in every 3,362 US boys born in 2025 was named Jamie — 508 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jamie with classmates?
- Jamie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jamie
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kylan#578 · Allen#578 · Jamari#576 · Rhodes#575 · Emanuel#574 · Maximo#580 · Seth#581 · Clay#573
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jamie? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jamie and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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