Jemima

[HungLikeAPeg]

Yay, nay?

Biased as I have one (grown up now)!

i chose it because biblical, means dove in Hebrew, liked the Play School and Beatrix Potter connection, also Jemima Goldsmith (then Khan) and Jemima Shore detective as growed up examples. It's also one of the Cats in the ALW musical.

NNs Mima, Mimes, Jemz and she now uses MYMA as a professional stage name.

Makes me immediately think of Puddle duck and the Play School doll so it would be a no from me I’m afraid.

I absolutely love it. I really wanted it for Dd but DH vetoed it for no apparent reason.

@villamariavintrapp I've had similar fears but after reading these comments and having a cuppa I'm pretty sure I'm overreacting. It is a real shame when companies/individuals with ill intentions create unpleasant associations to a name. I did a deep dive and they were inspired to use Jemima after an absolutely appalling minstrel song about a Jemima character. There is another minstrel song called O Susanna and yet another called Miss Lucy Long. I'm sure the list goes on and the names used are endless. I'm English and happy we have the Puddleduck connection instead and have decided that unless the name is Adolf or Fanny it's a bit ridiculous to worry about negative associations - hormones. I've also already found 3 much more admirable Jemima connections in Jemima Parry-Jones, Jemima Osunde and Jemima Blackburn. Shall stick to being reasonable and positive moving forward haha and am 90% set on Jemima.

@HungLikeAPeg

I just found out from behindthename.com that Aunt Jemima is a HUGE and controversial brand of syrup in America. Should this put me off or is that silly? Surely you could find a reason not to go with just about any name right.?

How controversial can syrup get?

Puddleduck.

so no. comic connotations. give her a serious name. some dignity.

Love it.
I didn't want more children so I named one of my cats it instead!
I call her Mima or Mimes.

It's a lovely name and, as you say, if you try hard enough there'll be a negative connection to any name.
Go with your gut feeling as the more you ask the more confused you'll be.

Love it. Was number one for both my daughters. However when I saw them it didnt suit at all. I still love it though.

Love it. It reminds me of Jemima from Chitty Chitty Bang bang. Had my son been a girl he would have been Jemima so the cat got it instead.

Oh god I think it's easily one of the worst names going.
Puddleduck, that problematic American syrup, uptight and prissy sounding. Just no on every front.

So glad you love the name @HungLikeAPeg

A great choice. And yes you're bound to overthink, it's normal. It's a great name though and one you'll really regret not using I imagine

Lovely name
Interestingly The American syrup brand has recently re branded following BLM etc and is dropping the aunt Jemima name. So don't let that put you off! I also believe uncle Ben may be also dropping the uncle bed name.
Interestingly the name Ben has never been seen as racist?

Anyway its a beautiful name so use it!

I'm not a fan personally, as I find it twee, but I wouldn't let the Aunt Jemima thing put you off. It's a patronising old stereotype that has been kept alive by the brand, but the brand has already renamed itself. I suspect the negative connotations will fade quite quickly and won't be known to your DD's generation.

LOVE it!! Its beautiful. I like Mima for short.

I may have started the same thread 5 years ago, the Aunt Jemima thing really put me off! Likelihood is she’ll go to the states and people will be Love the name though!! I know a Jemima/Mimi.

It's my middle name and I honestly hate it. Sorry! I'm 36 and Beatrix potter was so fashionable then. When I got married I didn't want middle names in the service. But on little girls I think it's kind of cute.

This is my name. Mine is spelt Jemimah. I'm in my late 20's. I can honestly say no one has mentioned aunt jemima to me or said I have a racist name I have a fair few American friends and it has never come up!

As for puddleduck, yes I do get that, but it's never bothered me.

I mainly get Mimah or Jem or variations thereof from family and friends. It's a versatile name which I like! I didn't love it when I was in secondary school, didn't think it suited me, I'm working class northern and it felt a bit 'posh' for me but love it now that I'm an adult! I've only met 2 other Jemimah's so it's not very common but I believe it's on the rise! Go for it... it's a great name

I love it!

I love it! I've only known one little Jemima and she was lovely. Her nicknames were Jemmy, Jem and Mimi.

I really like it but I don’t like Jemma. Not sure how easy it is to influence nicknames as they probably tend to evolve naturally from peers/other family etc.

Dreadful, whiny name.

I know one and everyone calls her Mima

Was coming to warn you about the American connection, but see you are aware. If there's a chance you/she may end up in America in the nearish future, the name at the moment is wholly tied to the syrup and pancakes. Not just because of the recent controversy but also because it's just a very rarely used name there -- so if you say Jemima people will automatically think "Aunt" because that's the only place they've heard it used. It is different to Uncle Ben in that way because Ben is a very popular name so most people would not automatically think of the brand.

That said, Jemima is a nice name and I think fine to use in the UK where those connections don't exist. As others have said, they are changing the name of the brand so even American children of your child's generation are unlikely to make that association in the future even if the older generations still do.

I like Jemima. The puddle duck is a cute connection.

Aunt Jemima syrup is being rebranded in the States.