Jeremy (name)


Jeremy is a male given name. It is a variant of the name of the Old Testament biblical prophet "Jeremiah" in its anglicized and diminutive form. Given its linguistic evolution, the name "Jeremy", as a shortened version of "Jeremiah," is commonly recognized as a name of Christian New Testament origin with its beginnings first seen in bible translations, such as the New King James version of the Bible that referred to the prophet "Jeremiah" as "Jeremy" in the New Testament text. In Hebrew, the common meaning of the name Jeremiah in variation is: "May Jehovah exalt," or "Exalted of the Lord". As the English vernacular form of Jeremiah, the name Jeremy has been translated to mean "the Lord loosens," or "God will uplift," which dates to the 13th century. Cognate variations, spellings, and nicknames deriving from the name Jeremy include: Jerry, Jeramy, and Jeromy.

In arts and entertainment

The name Jeremy became popular in the United States in the 1960s going into the 1970s, rising abruptly from being the 296th-ranked most popular male name in 1968 to being the 14th-ranked most popular in 1976. Previously, it had been much more common in England and Wales, though up to the Second World War it was often given only as a middle name even when parents intended their children to be known by it so did not officially rank in the Top 100 in 1934 or 1944. By 1954 it was 70th in popularity in England and Wales, and had risen to 47th in 1964, but had fallen to 62nd by 1974 and was out of the Top 100 by 1984. In England it has tended to be marked for middle-class status.