How popular is the baby name Jeremy in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Jeremy.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Jeremy


Posts that mention the name Jeremy

What popularized the baby name Jerrica in the 1980s?

The character Jem from from the animated TV series "Jem" (1985-1988).
Jem from “Jem“

Ready for a pair of truly outrageous baby names?

The animated TV series Jem, which began airing in late 1985, focused on an all-girl rock band called Jem and the Holograms.

Jem was the lead singer, and she had a big secret: she didn’t really exist! “Jem” was just the alter-ego of a woman named Jerrica Benton, who used a powerful holographic computer (called Synergy) and a pair of hi-tech earrings to have the “Jem” hologram projected over her.

The Name Jem

Before Jem, there had been girls named Gem and boys named Jem (short for Jeremy/Jeremiah/James). But only in 1986 do baby girls named Jem start popping up in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1989: 6 baby girls named Jem
  • 1988: 9 baby girls named Jem
  • 1987: 11 baby girls named Jem
  • 1986: 5 baby girls named Jem [debut]
  • 1985: unlisted
  • 1984: unlisted
The character Jerrica Benton from the animated TV series "Jem" (1985-1988).
Jerrica from “Jem“

The Name Jerrica

The Jessica-like name Jerrica was in use well before the cartoon started airing, but without Jem it might never have cracked the top 1,000:

  • 1989: 402 baby girls named Jerrica [ranked 558th]
  • 1988: 437 baby girls named Jerrica [ranked 506th]
  • 1987: 318 baby girls named Jerrica [ranked 607th]
  • 1986: 199 baby girls named Jerrica [ranked 836th]
  • 1985: 64 baby girls named Jerrica
  • 1984: 45 baby girls named Jerrica

Jerrica managed to stay in the top 1,000 all the way through 1995. It’s still in the SSA data today, though the numbers aren’t too impressive anymore (i.e., only 27 baby girls were named Jerrica in 2009).

The names Jerica and Jerika also saw increased usage during this time. Other variants of Jerrica that debuted in the data in the mid-to-late ’80s include Jerryca, Jericca, Jherica/Jherrica (inspired by the Jheri curl?), Gerrica/Gerica/Gerika, and Jarrica/Jarica/Jarika/Jareka.

Source: Jem (TV series) – Wikipedia

[Other cartoon-inspired baby names: Aeon, Cheetara, Pebbles, Caillou]

Popular baby names in Malta, 2007

Flag of Malta
Flag of Malta

Malta seems to be having some trouble tallying baby names. According to the island’s National Statistics Office, these were the top boy names of 2007:

  1. Luke/Luca, 98 baby boys
  2. Matthew/Matteo/Matthias, 88
  3. Jake, 56
  4. Julian, 40
  5. John/Gianni/Jean/Juan/Sean, 38
  6. Nicholas/Nikolai & Aiden, 37 (tie)
  7. Kieran, 35
  8. Isaac, 34
  9. Andrew/André/Andrea & Zack, 33 (tie)
  10. Nathan/Nathaniel, 32
  11. Jeremy/Jerome & James/Jamie & Jayden, 31 (tie)
  12. Daniel & Gabriel & Miguel, 29 (tie)
  13. Liam, 28
  14. Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro & Neil, 26 (tie)
  15. Michael/Mikiel/Mikail/Michele & Carl/Carlo/Karl & Kyle, 24 (3-way tie)
  16. Benjamin & Thomas/Tommaso, 20 (tie)
  17. Christian/Kristian, 18
  18. Mark/Marc/Marco, 17
  19. Dejan & Denzel, 16 (tie)
  20. Kayden, 13

There’s nothing wrong with the list itself. But problems begin when you try to compare this list with the 2006 list.

For instance, in 2006, 49 boys were named Michael or Michele. A year later, there’s no way to tell if either of these names has became more or less popular — all we know is that 24 boys were named Michael, Michele Mikiel or Mikail, and that 29 boys were named Miguel specifically.

And that’s just the beginning. Between 2006 and 2007, Nicholas became Nicholas/Nikolai, Thomas became Thomas/Tommaso, and James became James/Jamie. Alexander became Alexander/Alessandro/Alejandro, while (accent-less) Andre became Andrew/André/Andrea. All of these odd groupings make it impossible to draw conclusions about how the popularity level of a specific name has changed over time.

I am also suspicious about spelling. Aidan (#6) and Jaydon (#19) from the 2006 list seemed to morph into Aiden (#6) and Jayden (#11) in 2007.

Finally — and this may be nit-picky — I dislike how Jeremy and Jerome were lumped together. The names may look alike, but they are unrelated.

I have issues with the girl names as well:

  1. Maria/Mariah, 73 baby girls
  2. Martina, 47
  3. Julia/Giulia, 42
  4. Christina/Kristina/Christine/Christa, 41
  5. Elisa/Eliza/Elizabeth, 39
  6. Sarah, 36
  7. Emma & Maya, 34 (tie)
  8. Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, 31
  9. Amy & Jasmine/Yasmine, 30 (tie)
  10. Michela/Michelle, 29
  11. Katrina/Katie & Shania, 27 (tie)
  12. Aaliyah & Hayley & Jade, 21 (tie)
  13. Alexandra/Alessandra/Alessia, 20
  14. Francesca & Ylenia, 19 (tie)
  15. Kylie, 18
  16. Kaya, 17
  17. Emily & Kayleigh, 16 (tie)
  18. Kelsey & Leah & Rihanna & Thea, 15 (4-way tie)
  19. Ella & Elena & Kiera & Kyra, 14 (4-way tie)
  20. Hannah, 13

Between 2006 and 2007, Julia became Julia/Giula, Nicole became Nicole/Nicola/Nicolette, Jasmin (sans e) became Jasmine/Yasmine, and Elisa/Eliza became Elisa/Eliza/Elisabeth. Michela went from being grouped with Michaela to being grouped with Michelle.

And, as with the boys, I don’t think spelling stayed consistent. Hailey (#10, 2006) became Hayley (#12, 2007) and Kaylie (#17, 2006) became Kayleigh (#17, 2007).

Malta, you’re driving me crazy! I hope the top names of 2008 are listed more logically, i.e., using name-groupings that have been used before.

Source: Naming Babies: 2007 [pdf]

Image: Adapted from Flag of Malta (public domain)