Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Jeremiah

The name Jeremiah comes from the Hebrew name Yirmeyah meaning “appointed by God” and/or the word yirmәyāhû which means “Yahweh has established.” Jeremiah is borne in the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament in a book that bears his name. Appointed by God “from the womb,” Jeremiah is often referred to as the “Weeping Prophet” given his gloomy subject matter. Arguably the most depressive person in the Bible, poor Jeremiah has the unfortunate commission from God to prophesize the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. Jeremiah must bear witness to this horrible event knowing full well that it could have been prevented if only the people had listened to his admonitions to repent! The name was mainly popularized by the austere Puritans in the 16th century, given their penchant for Biblical names depicting moral and religious strictness.

All About the Baby Name – Jeremiah

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME JEREMIAH

Romance is the hallmark of the Six personality. They exude nurturing, loving, and caring energy. Sixes are in love with the idea of love in its idealized form - and with their magnetic personalities, they easily draw people toward them. Like the number Two personality, they seek balance and harmony in their life and the world at large. They are conscientious and service-oriented, and a champion for the underdog. These personalities naturally attract money and are usually surrounded by lovely material objects - but their human relationships are always primary. They thrive in giving back to others rather than being motivated by their own desires. This is when they achieve great things. Sixes are natural teachers, ministers and counselors.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME JEREMIAH

The name Jeremiah came to the United States by way of the Puritans, so it’s been around as a male name since the colonies were established. However, Jeremiah did not hit the Big Time until the 1970’s when it really took off in popularity. It probably got a little jump by the chart-topping song recorded by Three Dog Night and released in 1971 called “Joy to the World” which was subtitled “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog.” The name became a Top 100 favorite between 1976 and 1984, after which it slipped off the list ever so slightly. It came back to the Top 100 in the year 2001, and Jeremiah is actually experiencing its highest success on the charts right now. Clearly the name is standing in its own right as a unique classical choice with understated antique-charm. The name is probably no longer associated with the Weeping Prophet and his cries of doomsday.

Quick Facts

ON JEREMIAH

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

Hebrew

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

4

RANKING POPULARITY:

58

PRONUNCIATION:

jeh-rә-MY-ah

SIMPLE MEANING:

Appointed by God, Yahweh has established

Characteristics

OF JEREMIAH

Humanitarian

Community-minded

Family-oriented

Loving

Affectionate

Compassionate

Sensitive

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Jeremiah

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME JEREMIAH

Jeremiah is the title character of a 1919 play by the Austrian born writer, Stefan Zweig. Inspired by the events of World War I, it employs the Biblical tale of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrians to provide a lyrical anti-war platform. The defeat of the prophet Jeremiah is presented as a moral triumph: “You can kill a people but you cannot kill the god within them.”

Reverend Jeremiah Brown is a character in “Inherit The Wind,” the 1955 play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee, which fictionalizes the 1925 Scopes “Monkey Trial”, wherein John Scopes was put on trial in Tennessee for teaching the theory of evolution in high school. That historical incident stands in for the McCarthy Era, when the intellectual freedom of our entire nation was sorely tested. The Scopes character, Bertram Cates, is excoriated by the Reverend Jeremiah Brown as a sinner who is damned to hell, and he denounces his own daughter, Rachel, for her love for Cates. It is the defense attorney, Brady, who quotes from Proverbs in denunciation of Brown: "He that troubleth his own house, shall inherit the wind."

Although a minor character in Gabriel Garcia Marquez’ much heralded 1985 novel, “Love In The Time Of Cholera,” Jeremiah is, nonetheless, the character who opens the book. Dr. Urbino discovers his chess companion, Jeremiah, dead by suicide, and is led to ruminate on the nature of infirmity, aging, death, and love.

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME JEREMIAH

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Jeremiah


Popular Songs

ON JEREMIAH

Joy to The World (Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog)
a song by Three Dog Night

Jeremiah's Prayer
a song by Marc Broussard

Jeremiah Weed
a song by Gary Jules

Jeremiah Blues
a song by Sting

Jeremiah
a song by Starsailor

Jeremiah Symphony
a symphony by Leonard Bernstein

Famous People

NAMED JEREMIAH

Jeremiah Dixon (surveyor of the Mason-Dixon Line)
Jeremiah Wright (notable Chicago pastor)
Jeremiah Horrocks (astronomer)
Jeremiah Trotter (football player)
Jeremiah Tower (chef)
Jeremiah O'Donovan Rossa (notable Irish nationalist)
Jeremiah Clarke (English composer)

Children of Famous People

NAMED JEREMIAH

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Jeremiah

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME JEREMIAH

O’Donovan Rossa was a prominent member of the Irish Republican Brotherhood dedicated to the establishment of an "independent democratic republic" in Ireland, and which also aimed to liberate Ireland from British rule “by force of arms" in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was exiled to America where he and his group carried out the “dynamite campaign” which were the first ever bombings of English cities by the Irish nationalists. In America he was one of the leaders of the Fenian Brotherhood which was named after the “Fianna” - small, semi-independent warrior bands in early Ireland who lived apart from society in the forests as mercenaries, bandits and hunters, but could be called upon by kings in times of war. After the English bombings, Great Britain tried to extradite O’Donovan back to England for punishment to no avail (America had granted political amnesty to these Irish bad boys). A mentally unstable Englishwoman tried to assassinate O’Donovan in New York, but he survived the gunshot wounds. He would die at the age of 83 in Staten Island, but his body was sent back to his motherland. His graveside oration, given by Pádraig Pearse, remains one of the most famous speeches of the Irish independence movement. It ended with the lines: "They think that they have pacified Ireland. They think that they have purchased half of us and intimidated the other half. They think that they have foreseen everything, think that they have provided against everything; but, the fools, the fools, the fools! — They have left us our Fenian dead, and while Ireland holds these graves, Ireland unfree shall never be at peace."