I’ve always wondered how do you go about reclaiming a name? [name]Say[/name] a [name]Black[/name] person is offended by the use of the name and actually says something (which would be rude imo) to the parent of a [name]Jemima[/name]. What would one say when asked if they were aware they named their child after a derogatory racial slur. I imagine if anyone is going to reclaim this name at all it’s going to be African Americans but overall will still be taboo to use for a white person.
Honestly? I had never heard anything negative about it until I read this post. With that, it is a great name with a fresh nn, so I think you would be fine if you were to use it. Very nice!
Agent, I think you raise an interesting question. I would have no idea what would be a good response. I think if it’s a name that was once a family name that’s a good explanation but honestly I wouldn’t know how I would react.
I think the question of appropriateness for the name [name]Jemima[/name] really is a regional question. It would be difficult to avoid all, international negative cultural associations with a name. I think if you really love the name you need to consider where your life and the life of your child will predominantly be. I think that’s the best any of us can do.
And I read right past it as slur! Ill edit my quote to take that out too…
& responding to your next post, I agree that reclaiming in this case is such a tricky thing. Also because you aren’t the one living with the name, ultimately you’re asking your child to walk through life with a name that (in some locations) is still quite loaded and has the potential to offend.
Until the child moves to the south for college or the family moves at some point. I wouldn’t use this name anywhere in the U.S. With all the names to choose from, why take the chance of picking one that could saddle her with needless baggage for life? Maybe it shouldn’t be that way, but in my opinion, it is.
I don’t buy it as a non-issue even in the north, at least not anywhere there is much of a black population. I’m not from the south - the city I’m from, where I’ve heard it busted out as a slur many times - is a diverse city in a Northern state. Can’t pin that on the South at all.
I would tell them, no I named them after the bible character. If people start having better things to associate the name with then maybe the name won’t be viewed so negatively.
Yes! Yes! Yes! I love [name]Jemima[/name]!
Thanks to everyone that responded! Personally if someone said that to me I would say that I love the name because it means dove and connects the name to the Holy [name]Spirit[/name] for me, which is one of the many reasons I love [name]Jonah[/name]. I really don’t want to saddle my daughter with something so controversial. I guess I’ll stick with [name]Gemma[/name].
There’s [name]Yonina[/name]? (yo-nee-na) It is a feminine variant of [name]Yona/name which is the Hebrew form of [name]Jonah[/name]. [name]Yona[/name] itself is used for girls sometimes, I just like the option of [name]Nina[/name] as a nickname.
I know a little girl named [name]Jemima[/name] - a very blonde, caucasian [name]Jemima[/name] in the states ([name]California[/name]). It certainly is a controversial name. Everyone I mention her to says, “Really, [name]Jemima[/name]?” And then asks if she’s African-American. However, when you connect the name with her sweet little face, it really is the PERFECT. Could not be cuter. (Her mom calls her [name]Jemmy[/name].) So, yes, it’s a leap into controversy, but in my opinion, great risk leads to great rewards!
(This coming from a mom to [name]Beatrix[/name] so take that as you like.)
I am not from the US and I think it works just fine. I’ve never met a [name]Jemima[/name] though.
I love it. Great name. I hope people will start to use it and the bad feelings will dissipate. I would not shy away from a name because it is associated with the slave community. There was so much good in that community – strength and courage and humanity, and a wonderful drive to overcome instead of seek revenge. Complex baggage – but not all bad.
All that said, unfortunately, it all comes down to where you life. A small town in [name]Louisiana[/name]? I’d think twice. The upper west side of Manhattan? Go for it, really GO. Wherever you are, you get a feel for your neighbor and the people likely to be the parents of your child’s friends. Take your cues from them.
I don’t think that’s the baggage associated with it, I’m not sure you’re looking at it the way a person of color might though. The baggage is that we resent having been called racial slurs and specifically [name]Jemima[/name], it conjures up humiliating images to me although I can completely understand it being used by a foreign person. I truly think if the name is to be reclaimed it will be more acceptable in the [name]Black[/name] community than in the white community.
This may not be fair or go over very well but imo if I met an American White girl named [name]Jemima[/name] I would wonder if the parents were ignorant as to the hateful history of the name, if I met a [name]Black[/name] girl named [name]Jemima[/name] I would assume the parents knew but had embraced the name. The difference is because although my roots are Afro-Caribbean and not African-American I see it as something that was once forced upon “us” but we can now choose to use, it’s ours to embrace or reject. When White people use it I just think of a name they used to ridicule and degrade us with. I guess to a degree it would be cultural appropriation to me? I’m not sure but you’re right the name has complex baggage.
[name]Jemmy[/name] is adorable too. I’m glad to hear that [name]Jemima[/name] actually works for someone. I love [name]Beatrix[/name] as well! I think [name]Beatrix[/name] and [name]Jemima[/name] would be adorable siblings 
I didn’t say it’s a [name]NON[/name]-issue, I said I don’t think it’s as MUCH of an issue.
You get ignorant morons everywhere, but I think it’s pretty much well established, that many of the northern states are more liberal.
And to answer an earlier question from someone else, the two girls called [name]Jemima[/name] I personally know, are both Caucasian. I know of two others; one Caucasian, the other of mixed heritage.
This is a mobile country. Most people don’t live in the same neighborhood all their lives. Also, I don’t think it’s right to put the burden of overcoming centuries’ worth of racial tensions on a child just to allow a name to be used and popular again. There are so many names to choose from, including [name]Jemma[/name], which is as close as it gets to [name]Jemima[/name].
So you know of FOUR girls named [name]Jemima[/name]???
I have to agree that it’s a name to be avoided by Americans. Like others have said, your daughter might be born in NYC but move to [name]Alabama[/name] at some point. Why saddle someone else with a potentially offensive name? Yes, it is lovely, and perhaps eventually could be used without risk. But right now, I’d avoid giving your children a name others see as hurtful.
I live in the South in an area that unfortunately is still very fraught with racial tension. So I’m not going to say that “racism is old news, nobody cares anymore.” What I AM willing to say is that I don’t think the name [name]Jemima[/name] conjures up these images on the same level as it once did. Yes, there are older people who will connect [name]Jemima[/name] with the mammy character, but I don’t think most young people will get that reference. There was once a time when [name]Daphne[/name], [name]Phoebe[/name], etc. were considered slave names, and I think [name]Jemima[/name] is certainly worthy of the same image overhaul. I’ll put it thise way. I live in the DEEP South, and I would use it.