Jem for Jeremiah?

[VanillaIce]

What do people think of the name Jeremiah? To be shortened to Jem (as in To Kill a Mockingbird). I feel you need a proper name to christen them with, hence Jeremiah, which should keep any priest happy!

[lynniep]

I like it. I may even pinch it

[Heated]

Yes, it will work imo. Jem in TKAM was a Jeremy, the other name that Jem shortens from(love that book & Gregory Peck btw!)

[VanillaIce]

Feel free lynniep but if you live in my neck of the woods, there'll be handbags!

[brimfull]

I really like it

[LetThemEatCake]

lovely, go for it

[tummytickler]

Oh - I wanted this exact combo - Jeremiah for a full name and Jem for a nn!
dh wont let me though - i still intend to change his mind - you never know!
So i love it - i am glad a little Jeremiah/Jem will be running around somewheere even if he is not mine

[Thunderduck]

I love Jeremiah. No need for a nickname though imho.

[donttrythisathome]

Very traditional name in Ireland for the older flat-cap generation. Shortened to Miah often. There was a double-act in Cork called Cha and Miah...

So, if you're in Ireland, in particular Cork, and don't want those associations, then no. Otherwise, I think it's a far superior name to Jeremy, which sounds watery and weak to me.

[GrapefruitMoon]

I think the reason Jeremiah was popular in ireland was that it is/was used as an Anglicized version of Diarmuid. I've never heard of it being shortened to Jem tbh and I'm not sure it's time for a comeback has come yet... but I like Jem - but didn't that used to be a short version of James (which I prefer to Jeremiah)

[WinkyWinkola]

I love it.

[catinthehat2]

Not bad at all, I like it.

[MsBrandybuck]

Excellent choice

[hester]

Really nice.

[jkklpu]

I know one - vg

[mathanxiety]

I think Jeremy is a Polish version of Jeremiah -- if not then it's used by the Polish community in the US quite a lot and I can't figure out why. It's a great name, sometimes also shortened to Jer. You don't bump into a lot of them.

[BalloonSlayer]

Jeremiah is a lovely sounding name I agree but it is a synonym for a misery-guts, particularly among the older generation/religious people.

"I don't want to be a Jeremiah about it but..."

This is because Jeremiah was a prophet in the Bible who had a lot of bad news to prophesy prophisie fortell. I think he was the original "prophet of doom."

In my not-very-thorough dictionary it says "a pessimistic person."