2000
#57,849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 329
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Jeremy
A variant of the Biblical Hebrew name Jeremiah, meaning "raised by God."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 474 Americans carry the last name Jeremy. That puts it at #53,969 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 723,110 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jeremy surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jeremy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
474
1 in 723,110
Census rank
#53,969
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
413
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 413 bearers of the surname Jeremy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53969th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeremy, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jeremy
The surname JEREMY has its origins in France, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the ancient French given name "Jeremai," which itself stems from the Biblical Hebrew name "Yeremyahu," meaning "Yahweh exalts." The name was likely brought to England by Norman settlers in the 11th century following the Norman Conquest.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname JEREMY can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Jeremia" and "Jeremias." This suggests that the name had already gained a foothold in England by the late 11th century. Over time, various spellings emerged, including Jermy, Jermyn, and Jermine, reflecting regional dialects and variations in pronunciation.
During the 13th century, the surname JEREMY began appearing in official records throughout England. Notable early bearers include William Jermy, who was recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1230, and Reginald Jermy, mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1273.
In the 14th century, the JEREMY name was associated with several prominent individuals. One such figure was Sir Thomas Jermyn (c. 1370-1444), a Member of Parliament for Norfolk who served as a Justice of the Peace and Sheriff of Norfolk and Suffolk. Another notable bearer was Sir Robert Jermyn (c. 1390-1459), a landowner and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War.
The 16th century saw the rise of the influential Jermyn family of Rushbrooke, Suffolk. Among its members was Sir Thomas Jermyn (1573-1645), a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Suffolk, and his son Henry Jermyn (1604-1684), who served as a courtier to King Charles I and Charles II.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the JEREMY surname continued to be associated with prominent figures, such as Sir Ambrose Jermyn (1637-1689), a Member of Parliament and landowner, and Sir Robert Jermyn (1637-1707), a naval officer and Member of Parliament for Bury St Edmunds.
Other notable bearers of the JEREMY surname include Sir Samuel Jermyn (1756-1820), a British naval officer and colonial administrator, and George Jermyn (1822-1891), a British Army officer and colonial administrator in India and South Africa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeremy
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeremy, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (6.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Jeremy bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jeremy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.0% · 256
- Black or African American21.8% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 25
- Two or more races5.3% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.1% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jeremy
Jeremy appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#61,745
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 325
-4 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Down 3,896 places
2020
#53,969
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 413
+88 bearers (+27.1%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 7,776 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,849 | 329 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #61,745 | 325 | 0.11 | -4 bearers (-1.2%) | Down 3,896 places |
| 2020 | #53,969 | 413 | 0.14 | +88 bearers (+27.1%) | Up 7,776 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jeremy surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #61,745 | #53,969 | 12.6% |
| Count | 325 | 413 | 27.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.11 | 0.14 | 25.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jeremy bearers went from 325 to 413 (+27.1% change). The surname moved up 7,776 positions in the national ranking, going from #61,745 to #53,969.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jeremy
FAQ
Jeremy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jeremy?
Name Census estimates that about 474 living Americans carry the surname Jeremy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 723,110 residents.
How common is Jeremy?
Jeremy ranks #53,969 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 413 people with the surname Jeremy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (474), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Jeremy.
Has Jeremy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jeremy went from 325 recorded bearers to 413. That is an increase of 88 (+27.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #61,745 to #53,969.
What does the Census say about the background of Jeremy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeremy, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.8%) and Hispanic (6.1%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jeremy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.0% (256 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jeremy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.0%), Black (21.8%), Hispanic (6.1%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jeremy (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jeremy mean?
A variant of the Biblical Hebrew name Jeremiah, meaning "raised by God." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jeremy (0.14 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Jeremy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.