Jeremy
Feminine · “the Lord will raise up”
Jeremy is given to boys far more often — 446,425 boys against 2,312 girls since 1880. See Jeremy as a boy name
Jeremy and Jeremiah are the same name, and the King James Bible uses both: Jeremiah through the Old Testament, Jeremy in the New. The short form is not a modern convenience. It is what medieval English had already worn the Hebrew down to, centuries before anyone printed a Bible in the language at all.
How old is the name Jeremy?
Jeremy first appears in US birth records in 1935 — 90 years ago. The typical Jeremy alive today was born around 1982, making them about 43 years old. About 2,200 people named Jeremy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jeremy most popular?
Jeremy peaked in 1977, reaching #983 nationally. See the whole 1977 chart.
Where it comes from
From Yirmeyahu to Jeremy
The story of Jeremy
The prophet gave English a word for a kind of writing. A jeremiad is a long, mournful complaint about the state of the world, and it is named directly for the tone of Lamentations, the book traditionally ascribed to him. English took it from French in the eighteenth century and it has been in steady use ever since, mostly by people describing other people's arguments. Very few individuals, biblical or otherwise, have had a whole literary mode named after their temperament. It is not an entirely flattering legacy, and it is worth knowing that the reputation is somewhat unfair: the book that produced the word is a lament over a destroyed city, which is a reasonable thing to be gloomy about.
Meaning
the Lord will raise up
Hebrew Yirmeyahu. The verb is usually read as to lift or exalt, though a minority reading takes it as to loosen or set free. The divine element at the end is the standard one, the same that closes Isaiah and Zechariah.
How the name formed
- Yirmeyahu
- Ieremias
- Jeremy
- Jeremiah
Related forms: Yirmeyahu · Geremia · Jeremías · Jérémie · Jeremias
Pronouncing Jeremy
JERR-uh-mee
Three syllables with the stress at the front and a middle vowel reduced almost to nothing. Spelling and sound agree throughout, and the name is never mispronounced.
Nicknames for Jeremy
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
- 1935
- Most girls named
- 1977139 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #983reached in 1977
- Change vs 2017
- 0.0%5 in 2018, from 5
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.
Jeremy in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Yirmeyahu in Hebrew — same name
- Geremia in Italian — same name
- Jeremías in Spanish — same name
- Jérémie in French — same name
- Jeremias in German — same name
Jeremys among us
people named Jeremy 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
Jeremy 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
- It has been in continuous English use for something like eight centuries.
- The short forms are unusually varied, from literary to blunt to French.
- It is familiar to everyone while remaining well clear of the current crowd.
- Its peak generation is recent enough to date the name clearly to most ears.
- Jeremiah is currently the fuller and more fashionable of the two forms.
- A well-read stranger may reach for jeremiad, which is not a flattering word.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is much the smaller side.
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What they receive
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Jeremy
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Jeremys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Jeremy are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jeremy in 2025?
- Jeremy is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Jeremy with classmates?
- Jeremy 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 Jeremy? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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