boy's name
Jeremy
JER-uh-mee
- Origin Hebrew
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 609,054
the United States
#292
2025 births
Jeremy is a boy's name, the medieval English form of Jeremiah, from a Hebrew name generally read as God will exalt. It peaked in 1977 and ranks 292nd in the United States, charting in six of our seven markets.
- Jeremy is a name of Hebrew origin.
- Peaked in 1977, when 21,749 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 2,878 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1923.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jeremy over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 65 |
| 1930s | 241 |
| 1940s | 587 |
| 1950s | 1,033 |
| 1960s | 4,638 |
| 1970s | 140,156 |
| 1980s | 154,428 |
| 1990s | 78,028 |
| 2000s | 37,580 |
| 2010s | 23,571 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 8,410 |
What Jeremy means
Jeremy means God will exalt, or possibly God will loosen. The Hebrew verb behind it carries both senses and the reading depends on which is taken, so the meaning is not entirely settled.
Where Jeremy comes from
Jeremy is the English form of Jeremiah, the Hebrew Yirmeyahu — a form of the divine name joined to a verb usually read as to exalt or lift up, though a competing reading takes it as to loosen or release. The prophet Jeremiah warned of Jerusalem's fall and lived to see it, and the Book of Lamentations traditionally ascribed to him is the source of the English jeremiad, meaning a prolonged complaint. Jeremy is the form medieval English speakers used, softened from the Latin Jeremias, and it existed alongside the fuller Jeremiah for centuries before the twentieth-century revival made it dominant.
Jeremy in use
Jeremy peaked in the United States in 1977, when 21,749 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 292nd in the United States on 1,152 births, 449th in Ireland, 558th in England and Wales on 70, 796th in Scotland and 1008th in France, across 609,054 lifetime births. Our records carry it only from 1923, so its measured history is entirely modern despite the medieval form.
How popular is Jeremy?
In 2025, Jeremy was given to 1,152 babies in the United States, ranking #292 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Jeremy is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Jeremy is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Jérémy | Jérémy is Jeremy written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,008. | 17,110 |
| Jérèmy | Jérèmy is a rare spelling of Jeremy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 160 times, mostly in France. | 160 |
| Jéremy | Jéremy is a rare spelling of Jeremy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 155 times, mostly in France. | 155 |
| Jerémy | Jerémy is a rare spelling of Jeremy, written with an acute accent and recorded about 105 times, mostly in France. | 105 |
Names that peaked alongside Jeremy
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jeremy also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jeremy over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Jeremy
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Jeremy in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Finnish
- Jorma
Sibling names for Jeremy
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jeremy — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jeremy
What does the name Jeremy mean?
God will exalt, or possibly God will loosen — the Hebrew verb supports both.
Is Jeremy short for Jeremiah?
It is the medieval English form of it, and has been used independently for centuries.
What is a jeremiad?
A prolonged complaint, named for the Book of Lamentations traditionally ascribed to the prophet Jeremiah.
How popular is Jeremy?
292nd in the United States, down from a 1977 peak of 21,749 births.
Is Jeremy a girl's or a boy's name?
Jeremy is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jeremy?
Jeremy has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Jeremy?
Jeremy is usually shortened to Jem, Jez and Jerry.
Is Jeremy a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jeremy currently ranks #292 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.