Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed.
We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!
Aimee writes:
My husband and I are (finally) expecting what will almost certainly be our only child, a daughter.
We haven’t talked about names in a long time. Now we are at 32 weeks and realize it’s time!
Happily, we almost agree on a name. My mom’s maiden name was Jamison, and she was the last in her family, so the name ended with her. My husband’s dad passed away recently, and his name was James “Jim.” And my husband is named for his dad, so he’s James “Jay.”
If this baby was a boy, we’d have named him James, and called him James.
But she’s a girl! We don’t like either of the options so far:
- Jamie/Jaime – Because we’d be Jay, Aimee, and Jamie. Just no.
- James as a middle name – Maybe … but we don’t really like any first name enough to make this feel like a better choice. Our list so far is Ava, Mila, Eliza, Penelope, Kyra, Sage, Daisy, and Rose/Rosalie.
I wouldn’t want to name her James, because I worry people would call her Jamie anyway, which is what I really want to avoid. (And I don’t think I’m the kind of person to name a girl Charlie or Ryan anyway.)
My sister keeps joking that we should name her Semaj, which I actually almost like better than Jamie/Jaime, but not really.
What are we missing? Is there a “girl” equivalent to James that I just don’t know?
Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.
Abby replies:
Congratulations!
I completely understand waiting to talk about names. And how lucky that you and your husband are on the same page!
Now the hard part: there’s not really a feminine form of James.
In fact, I think that’s why we tend to use it for girls more readily. (It ranked in the US Top 1000 for girls from 1880 right through 1989.)
But if you’re willing to be creative, I think you do have a few options … without going quite as far as Semaj!
GIRL NAMES INSPIRED BY JAMES
ETTA
Legendary singer Etta James was born Jamesetta Hawkins. This name popped into my head almost immediately, and maybe it resonates that one of her biggest hits is the joyful “At Last.”
GEMMA
Stay with me here. Gemma is the Italian word for jewel, and has a long history as a feminine name. But, way back when, Jem was a go-to nickname for James. (And Jeremy, as in Scout’s brother in To Kill a Mockingbird.) So Gemma – or Jemma – feels like a reasonable feminine form.
GIA
In Italian, James is Giacoma, from the Latin Iacomus. (More on this in a minute.) I think that makes Gia an option.
JACQUELINE
Ask nearly anyone about Jacqueline, and they’d likely say it’s a feminine form of Jack. Or maybe of John, if they’re aware of Jack’s evolution as a short form of John. Except it’s not so. In French, Jacques is James. Think back to Iacomus and it makes much more sense. And so Jacqueline is – strictly speaking – probably the most popular feminine form of James in the US. Except that’s not obvious to anyone.
JAMISON
Here’s an option: name your daughter Jamison. Could it still be reduced to Jamie? Sure. But I’ve met plenty of girls who are Emerson-not-Emmy and Addison-not-Addie. I can also imagine another nickname emerging. Mimi maybe? Or Mia?
JANE
Okay, Jane is a feminine form of John. But if you’re playing off Jay, as in your husband’s nickname, Jane feels like a reasonably choice. Of course, Aimee, Jay, and Janie is also something I can’t say five times fast, so maybe it’s not an improvement.
JAYMA
As in Glee alum Jayma Mays. She was born Jamia, which is another option. But I like the way Jayma merges Jay and the “m” sound of James and Jamison. If this appeals to you, too, so many Jay- names are possibilities: Jayla, Jaycee, Jaylie, Jayda/Jada.
MINA
Here’s another one from the extended James family: if James becomes Giacoma in Italian, then Giacomina is an extended form. It’s Jacomina in Dutch, too, and possibly other European languages that add -mina to feminine names. And so Mina might be an option. I also like the way it picks up on the middle syllable of Jamison.
My favorites are the least expected: Etta, Gemma, Mina. If I were choosing, I like the way Gemma feels somewhat removed from James, but still connected. And you might even name her Gemma James, which feels like the best of all possible worlds. I’d put Mina James a close second.
My immediate thought was — “Jemima” with the nickname, “Jem”.
Jay, Aimee, & Jemima (“Jem”)
Jamesina with the nickname of Jemma!
She’s classic, unmistakable, and extremely cool. If you Google Jamesina, there are loads of creative, successful, interesting women who come up.
Jay, Aimee, and Jemma.
THAT sounds like a family.
Congratulations and best wishes to you all!
I know in the US Jemima can be problematic but in the UK it is cool. Perhaps it would work for you?
In the category of names that are distinct but related, James mean supplanter. So what about Victoria? The idea of thriving in someone’s footsteps…
Ooh, what a lovely family legacy… on both sides!
I think Jamison is a strong contender. I love that it restores your mother’s maiden name to the family line, fully intact but in a different position. And the meaning is “son of James” – if you stretch it to mean “child of James”, it’s quite fitting!
I also love the idea of Jacqueline. The short-A sound at the beginning would add some variety to your and your husband’s long-A names. And the connection to James is centuries-old, which feels solid. Even if most Americans aren’t aware that Jacques = James, I can imagine your daughter proudly telling people that “My name is the female version of my dad’s name in French.”
Both Jamison and Jacqueline would also work beautifully as middle names with any of the names on your “maybe” list:
Ava Jamison or Ava Jacqueline
Mila Jamison or Mila Jacqueline
Eliza Jamison or Eliza Jacqueline
etc.
As another commenter pointed out, Jasmine has all the same letters as James (and almost the same as Jamison). It fits the botanical theme of your “maybes” Sage, Daisy, and Rose. There’s also the variants Jessamine and Jessamyn.
Joy stands out to me as another possibility. It’s classic and uplifting. Maybe it doesn’t have an obvious connection to James, but its simplicity feels close enough. It’s only one letter away from your husband’s nickname… and if that’s a downside, it makes a lovely middle name, as well.
Finally, if you’re up for blazing your own trail, you could consider combining James with a common feminine ending:
Jamesine
Jamesina
Jameset
Jamesette
Jameselle
Jamesella
Jameselia
Jamesley
Jamesiana
Jamesandra
Hope you’ll share an update after your daughter is born!
What about Jamila? It is a name meaning “beautiful, elegant, graceful”. It combines the beginning of James and the name Mila which you mentioned that you like. You could call her Jamila or nickname Mila.
How about Jemsa? It’s an anagram of James, and reminds me of Daisy/ Eliza. She could have tonnes of nicknames too; Jem, Jemmie/ Jemmy, Jemma, Jemsy etc 🙂
I can also thing of Jasme as another anagram, perhaps pronounced like a mix of Jasmin and Esme, JAZ-may?
Or a J name, like Juliet, Josephine/Josie, Juno, Jessamine, Jessamy… with the middle name Ames, to create J. Ames in that way.
Good luck! And congrats on your new baby 🙂
I agree with PPs. Jamison nn Sunny. Jemma/Jem is also a top contender.
My first thought for you was Jacobina nn Coco, Nina, or Gina but I think the suggestions of Gia, Giacoma, and Jacqueline nn Lina all hit the mark.
What about Jimi/Jimmie/Jimmy? I especially love it with a big ol’ middle like Jimi Séverine or Jimmie Leonora. Another option is to use a James-from-another-language like Seamus which I think could be really cool for a girl especially with a pretty traditional feminine name. Seamus Anna, Seamus Eliza. She could go by Shay!
I think Jemma is my favorite suggestion. I also like the idea of using James or Jamison as a middle name.
Ava James.
Eliza Jamison.