unisex name
Jimmie
JIM-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Unisex
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 135,346
Jimmie means supplanter, shortened from James, and about 17 percent of the births in our records are female — a much higher share than most nickname-names of this shape, which usually resolve firmly to one side or the other.
- Jimmie is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1934, when 3,451 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 94,733 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jimmie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 553 |
| 1890s | 1,009 |
| 1900s | 2,348 |
| 1910s | 8,175 |
| 1920s | 19,130 |
| 1930s | 31,275 |
| 1940s | 28,750 |
| 1950s | 17,629 |
| 1960s | 11,167 |
| 1970s | 6,526 |
| 1980s | 3,866 |
| 1990s | 2,427 |
| 2000s | 1,301 |
| 2010s | 815 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 295 |
What Jimmie means
Jimmie means supplanter, or one who takes the place of another. It carries the meaning of James, and so of Jacob, without adding anything of its own.
Where Jimmie comes from
Jimmie is a pet form of James, which is Jacob by a longer route — the Hebrew Ya'aqov became the Greek Iakobos, the Latin Iacobus, and then the late variant Iacomus that produced Jacques and James, while the older Latin form gave Jacob directly. Genesis has Jacob born holding his twin's heel, which the name is read against, and he goes on to take Esau's birthright. The -ie spelling of Jimmie is the more Southern American and the more often feminine, which is where the female share comes from.
Jimmie in use
Jimmie peaked in the United States in 1934, when 3,451 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 3738th in the United States on 35 births, across 135,346 lifetime births. About 17 percent of recorded births are female, which is unusually high for a name of this shape and matches the pattern Johnnie shows.
How popular is Jimmie?
In 2025, Jimmie was given to 35 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jimmie 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.
Names that peaked alongside Jimmie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jimmie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jimmie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jimmie 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.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- James
Sibling names for Jimmie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jimmie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jimmie
What does the name Jimmie mean?
Supplanter, carried from James and so from Jacob.
Is Jimmie a girls' name?
For about 17 percent of the births in our records — unusually high for a name of this shape.
Is it Jimmie or Jimmy?
The -ie spelling is more Southern American and more often feminine.
How popular is Jimmie?
3738th in the United States, the only market where it charts.
How many syllables are in Jimmie?
Jimmie has 2 syllables.
Is Jimmie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jimmie currently ranks #3,738 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.