Name of the Week: Jeremy

Origin:

Jeremy is the English form of the Hebrew name Jeremiah meaning "Yahweh will rise, Yahweh exalts" which was borne by a Biblical Prophet.   In Ireland, Jeremy came to be used as an Anglicised rendering of Diarmuid, a name from Irish mythology meaning "free from envy".

Usage:

Jeremy was used in Britain from at least the 12th century and was used as a Middle English translation of Jeremiah in Wycliffe's Bible in 1395. It was often written in medieval records in the Latin form Jeremias, though Jeremy was the vernacular form that these men would have been known by.  It was not a wildly common name in the Middle Ages, but it was used enough to create the surname Jeremy and Jermyn. Reaney and Wilson also note the given name Jermy, responsible for the surnames Jerm(e)y, Jarm(a)y and Jarmey, which was a medieval variant of both Jeremy and Germain. Scott Smith-Bannister's top 50 rankings from forty English parishes per decade from 1538-1700 lists both Jeremy and Jeremiah separately. Neither were common initially, but picked up in use by the mid-17th century:   1538-49 1550-9 1560-9 1570-9 1580-9 1590-9 1600-9 1610-9 Jeremy - - - - #42 - - - Jeremiah - - - - - - - -   1620-9 1630-9 1640-9 1650-9 1660-9 1670-9 1680-9 1690-1700 Jeremy - #46 - #38 #49 #40 - - Jeremiah - - - #46 #37 #48 #35 - Jeremy also ranked at #42 in Leslie Dunklings top 50 for 1700.   As George Redmonds points out, however, evidence for the use of Jeremy or Jeremiah during this period is complicated by its confusion with Jerome, the name of a prominent saint and Roman theologian.  By the 19th century, both Jeremy and Jeremiah were used as distinct names, and—especially in the first half of the century when Old Testament names were favoured—Jeremiah became the dominant form while Jeremy was rare.  This all changed by the mid-29th century as records from the England and Wales Birth Index shows:   Jeremy Jeremiah 1840: 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900: 1904: 1914: 1924: 1934: 1944: 1954: 1964: 1974: 1984: 1994: >#300 >#300 >#300 >#300 (no births) >#300 >#250 __ __ __ __ __ #70 #47 #62 __ __ #53 #70 #71 #92 #126 #156 #184 __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ Jeremy entered the top 100 in England and Wales in 1954, peaked in 1964 and fell out again by 1984. What caused its rise in the 1950s isn't clear, but we can look to other similar-sounding names that were also in the top 100 at the time such as Geoffrey, Jeffrey, Terence, Terry and Gregory. It was less common in Scotland, not ranking in the Scottish top 100 in either 1950 or 1975 (when it was only at #142).  In 1996, Jeremy ranked #265 (108 births) and Jeremiah ranked #605 (27 births) in England and Wales. By 2009, Jeremy was in decline while Jeremiah was rising; in 2010, Jeremiah took over as the dominant form.  In 2018, Jeremy ranked #690  with 50 births and Jeremiah ranked #331 with 139 births in England and Wales. In Scotland, Jeremy has ranked below the top 300 since 1990. Jeremiah has had even less use.  In 2018, Jeremy ranked #516 with 5 births and Jeremiah ranked #704 and 3 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Jeremy Taylor (1613–1667), British author and clergyman. * Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), British legal reformer and philosopher. Contemporary: * Jeremy Brett (1933–1995), British actor. * Jeremy Beadle (1948–2008), British television presenter, writer and producer. * Jeremy Irons (born 1948), British actor.  * Jeremy Paxman (born 1950), British television presenter. * Jeremy Brock MBE (born 1959) is a British writer and director. * Jeremy Clarkson (born 1960), British broadcaster. * Jeremy Northam (born 1961), British actor. * Jeremy Kyle (born 1965), British television presenter. * Jeremy Piven (born 1965), American actor. * Jeremy Vine (born 1965), British radio and television journalist and presenter. * Jeremy Renner (born 1971), American actor. * Jeremy Sisto (born 1974), American actor. * Jeremy Jordan ( born 1984), American actor. * Jeremy Davis (born 1985), bassist for American rock band Paramore. * Jeremy Sumpter (born 1989), American actor. Literature and Other Media: * Jeremy Fisher, the title character of The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher by Beatrix Potter. * Jeremy Poldark, son of Ross and Demelza in Winston Graham's Poldark series.  * Jeremy "Jem" Finch, a character in Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird. * Jeremy, a jet airliner in Thomas & Friends. * Jeremy Hilary Boob, the "nowhere man" from The Beatles' film, Yellow Submarine. * Jeremy Reed, the lead character in Powder.  Other:  * Jeremy, a song by Pearl Jam.

Variants:

Jérémie, Jérémy (French), Jeremias (German, Spanish, Portuguese, Finnish), Jeremi, Jeremiasz (Polish)

Pronunciation:

JEH-rə-mee [key]

Possible diminutives:

Jerry, Jem, Jez, Jamie

Sibling Names:

Gloria     Kathleen     Marian     Rosemary     Wendy     Cynthia Ronald     Clifford     Leonard     Kenneth     Raymond     Colin

Name Lists:

Resurrected Retro   Beatrix Potter Names

 

If you like Jeremy you may also like:   Geoffrey, Gerald, Trevor, Derek, Graham, Terence, Malcolm, Gareth, Gerard, Howard

Thanks to Virag for requesting this name.