Can [name]Jemima[/name] actually work or would it still be found offensive? I think it’s absolutely lovely and she could always go by [name]Jemma[/name] as a NN. What would you do if you met a little [name]Jemima[/name] in the US? I would love to meet a little [name]Jemima[/name] myself but I’m curious as to what some other people think about it. So yes or no to [name]Jemima[/name]?
I wouldn’t find it offensive exactly but at least in my hometown she’d have a difficult time in grades 6-12 and some adults would be a bit “…really?” before/after that as well. [name]Just[/name] a lot of baggage. [name]How[/name] much baggage would vary from place to place, probably, but I don’t know where we’ll live or where she’ll want to live later.
I think [name]Gemma[/name] is pretty and [name]Jemima[/name] has a nice meaning (“dove”) but there’s other names that mean dove or are Biblical girl’s names that would be a lot easier to manage.
It’s lovely in theory, but still not usable in the US. I would just go with [name]Jemma[/name] if that’s what you would call her anyway.
Being Australian I had no idea about the connotations [name]Jemima[/name] had until I joined nameberry. From all the debates I’ve gathered people in the US are still quite sensitive to it, so I would suggest to think about it and make sure this is the name you really want to use. It is a beautiful name, yes but it carries a lot of baggage which is a shame really.
Anyone wanna clue me in on the negative connotation?
Racist old ad and Aunt [name]Jemima[/name] is still a brand of pancake mix/syrup but it’s beyond being just a brand, it’s rather tied up with post-Civil War imagery of folksy black servants, and “Aunt [name]Jemima[/name]” is still, at least where I grew up, used as an insult/slur against black women.
I don’t know whether it would be more awkward to be a black or a white [name]Jemima[/name].
I know a high school student with this name. She is a [name]Pacific[/name] Islander though, so I don’t know if she has faced any stereotypes about her name or if people even know them.
I just think of little blonde [name]Jemima[/name] on Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Hmm in the UK it works!
I went to school with sisters called [name]Harriet[/name] & [name]Jemima[/name] and they never had any issues with their names. [name]Jemima[/name] is a lovely name and in [name]England[/name] has associations with [name]Jemima[/name] Puddleduck and [name]Beatrix[/name] [name]Potter[/name], [name]Jemima[/name] has a really lovely summery feel and associations with a simplier times, along with the districts within [name]England[/name]. However in [name]America[/name] I think because of the horrible racist advertising of Aunt [name]Jemima[/name] pancake mix, syrup and other breakfast foods the name holds to much baggage and most likely be deemed as offensive.
However as a middle name for an American child I think [name]Jemima[/name] would be cute! For instance [name]Olive[/name] [name]Jemima[/name] or [name]Caitlin[/name] [name]Jemima[/name]?
xx
Outside the US, it works. Inside the US, I think it depends on where you live. I’d never heard about the baggage of [name]Jemima[/name] until a few years ago. I have a feeling that in my northern US area, it’d be okay to use.
In a word: No. It’s still too touchy and, as another poster mentioned, just carries too much baggage. Passes are given for those born outside the U.S., but otherwise it’s just too sensitive. Not offensive, in my opinion… just sensitive.
I live in [name]Canada[/name] and never knew about the baggage it carried until someone mentioned it on Nameberry and I googled it out of curiosity. You could probably get away with it here in [name]Canada[/name], but I would avoid it anyway, there are so many names to choose from.
No, it absolutely does not work.
As a mixed race person I would question an American who named their kid [name]Jemima[/name]. It isn’t just a syrup, it’s a character that came from a minstrel show which is highly offensive. [name]IMO[/name] the black face, mammy, racial slur and syrup connections are too strong to make this usable in the states despite it’s biblical origins.
I agree with melissa2.
I am not fond of it just for the way it sounds, but I think it is time to reclaim this name and turn it into a positive. After all it is the name of a person in the bible and it’s meaning is lovely.
^^ This.
I think there’s a tendency to want to say that it’s ancient history, but the shameful truth is that it was not that long ago and in the US, there will be older people in particular who hear that name and associate it very strongly with this image.
I’m going to be slightly controversial here, but I think it would be more of an issue in southern states where lets face it, race is still a huge hotbed topic. I think in more liberal states, times have moved on slightly.
Here in [name]New[/name] [name]York[/name], I know/know of a handful of girls called [name]Jemima[/name], in fact there is a freshman at my high school with the name. There is a diverse mix of students at my school, including a large number of African-Americans, and I don’t know anyone who has a problem with her name. In fact, two of the girls in her friendship group are African-American, so it clearly doesn’t bother them!
omg I just realized in my original post, the one you quoted, I said “racial slut” instead of “racial slur” o_O oops!
Are the [name]Jemima[/name]'s that you know white or African American?