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Original poster

What could Jem be short for?

46 replies

MeerkatMerkin · 13/03/2013 17:42

Not keen on Jeremy (makes me think of Beadle and the thought of giving [re?]birth to Jeremy Beadle, beard and all, is frankly terrifying) but I like the nickname Jem for a boy and just wondered if there were any suggestions?

Jeremiah and Jeronimo are a bit out there. James is too 'in there'. Something in between would be nice!

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scaevola · 13/03/2013 17:45

Traditionally, it's short for James.

ThingummyBob · 13/03/2013 17:47

If I heard Jem I'd assume it was short for Jeremy regardless of his actual name OP Grin

Same as I assume Pete is Peter, Mick/Mike is Micheal & Steve is Steven/Stephen. Although I do not assumed anything of Jo/Joe or John/Johnny!

How about Jerome?

Is Jeronimo an 'actual' name btw? I think its funny in a funny-not-nasty kind of way Confused Grin

KatzenStein · 13/03/2013 17:51

Jeremiah. Germain.

Both lovely names, I know one of each, both nn Jem.

Could be a nn for James too.

Original poster
MeerkatMerkin · 13/03/2013 17:57

Yes I knew about it being traditional for James but my DS's middle name is James so we can't really go there!

skaevola, I went to school with a girl with that name. I'm assuming it's not your real name, but if it is, I wonder if you are her? :)

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noraknickers · 13/03/2013 17:58

Makes me think of Jemma or Jemima. Sorry, probably not what you want to hear...

Original poster
MeerkatMerkin · 13/03/2013 17:58

Thing, I'm not sure about Jeronimo, I used to work at a college and one of the students was Jeronhimo - I always thought it was fantastic but bizarre! Grin

OP posts:
IamthegreatProcrastinator · 13/03/2013 17:59

Why not just call him Jem? I like the name.

neolara · 13/03/2013 18:00

I have a Jem. He's just Jem. When he was born, I was a bit scared of calling him Jem, even though I loved the name. I had to give him a very unusual first name because of family tradition, and I gave him James as a second name as I thought if he hated both his unusual names when he was older, he could call himself James which at least had a loose link to Jem. Frankly, ridiculous. I can only blame the hormones. I should have just called him Jem as this is what everybody knows him as.

Incidentally, I thought Jem was going to be an incredibly rare name, but I know of two other little boy Jems.

scaevola · 13/03/2013 18:00

No, it's because we're a family of southpaws.

ThingummyBob · 13/03/2013 18:04

YY - bizarre but fantastic!

Am I being thick about Jem being a deriviative of James then Grin

I've honestly never heard of it before but have known 3 or 4 Jeremy-Jems in my time!

OP - what about Jahmene?

DonkeysDontRideBicycles · 13/03/2013 18:06

Jem I thought of as short for Jeremy or Jeremiah, don't see why you shouldn't just use Jem.

There's also Jed, or Judd, or Jesse Smile

wigglesrock · 13/03/2013 18:10

I know a just Jem Smile The inspiration was to Kill A Mockingbird. It really suits him, he's a very sunny child.

WishSpringSummerWasHere · 13/03/2013 18:21

Cem pronounced Jem is a Turkish boys name meaning 'ruler'...

Original poster
MeerkatMerkin · 13/03/2013 18:22

neo, yes I suppose my fear is Jem not being a big enough name for a rocket scientist or brain surgeon or prime minister (which is of course so likely! Grin - but then again I do think it goes incredibly well on its own with the middle name we have picked - Alexander. That's if it's a boy at all - do embryos even have a sex at 8 weeks?!

Glad there are so many advocates of 'just Jem' - I thought all MN babynamers preferred to give a longer full name 'just in case'. Wink

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MadBraLady · 13/03/2013 18:30

My dad is Jeremy. His parents wanted to call him Jem, but the vicar took a dim view (well it was the 1950s Grin) and christened him Jeremy.

His mum still calls him Jem but he doesn't like it, he is Jeremy/Jerem to everybody else. It's partly for that reason I would always use the full name of any nickname I fancied, just in case.

Bartlebee · 13/03/2013 19:32

I know 2 Jeremys. One is Jem and one Jerry.

Floggingmolly · 13/03/2013 19:34

It's James.

nectarini1983 · 13/03/2013 19:59

I agree with noraknickers...sounds like a a girls name!

SleepyCatOnTheMat · 14/03/2013 09:37

Yes, embryos has a sex from the moment they're conceived (if they have inherited an X chromosome from mum and an X chromosome from dad they can only be a girl; if they have inherited an X chromosome from mum and a Y chromosome from dad they can only be a boy). I like Jem very much and have only ever come across it as a nickname for James, but agree it could also be short for Jeremy/Jeremiah. What about Jamieson as a full name?

poppydaisy · 14/03/2013 14:41

I know two Jems, one Jemima and one Gemma. Sounds girly to me. I do like Jeremy though.

Original poster
MeerkatMerkin · 14/03/2013 17:47

My DH has a fairly feminine name - it's one of the Famous Five brothers, not Dick! Grin He has never had any problems with people assuming he's a girl (his nickname sounds like Jewels) or teasing when he was younger. I also like Jude so I guess I have a bit of a penchant for slightly girls 'J' names. Blush

DH hasn't vetoed it anyway so it's firmly on the list! Thanks for your comments. :)

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Original poster
MeerkatMerkin · 14/03/2013 17:47

Oops, smiley overload...

OP posts:
MrsLukeDanes · 14/03/2013 20:59

I am sure that i've met a jemuel (like samuel). Iirc he said it is in the bible? Disxlaimer - was many moons ago!!

clarehk · 15/03/2013 10:38

My nephew is Jem. Just Jem. I love it and think it's fine as a name on it's own. His dad is Irish and it's the Irish version of James, which means it can stand up on its own. And if you're just going to call him Jem, why give him a longer name you don't even like very much?

FreedomOfTheTess · 15/03/2013 11:31

MrsLukeDanes - you may well have met a Jemuel, it is indeed a name, and a Biblical one. Jemuel was the eldest son of Simeon (who was the second of Jacob's 12 sons).

Lovely name.