Jemma
- Pronunciation
- [Je-mma]
- Gender
- Female
- Meaning
- Variant Of Gemma.
- Origin
- English
About the Name Jemma
Jemma is the English spelling variant of Gemma, descending from the Latin gemma meaning "jewel," "gem," or "precious stone." The name has been used continuously across Italian-Catholic naming traditions since the medieval period, anchored by Saint Gemma Galgani (1878–1903, the iconic Italian Catholic mystic and stigmatic).
The various spellings (Jemma, Gemma) are tracked separately by SSA and represent the same underlying Latin name. The Jemma spelling specifically appeals to parents seeking a more visually distinctive form than the historical Gemma. Notable bearers include the iconic British actress Jemma Redgrave (born 1965, the iconic British actress of various stage and TV productions); American filmmaker Jemma Bell; the contemporary fictional Jemma of various contemporary novels including the iconic Jemma Simmons of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. 2013–2020 (played by Elizabeth Henstridge).
Jemma's American climb is recent: the name climbed from outside the US top 1000 in 2010 to the US top 300 girls' rank by 2018 and the top 300 since. The name has been used predominantly for girls in modern American naming. The name's appeal sits in three contemporary American naming preferences: the in-built Latin-Italian-jewel etymological register, the popular two-syllable -mma ending family (Jemma, Emma), and the modern visual presence with the J-spelling. Two firm syllables, soft consonants, and tonal warmth distinctive to vintage-revival names. The name reads as both classical-Latin and contemporary American. Common nicknames Jem (the dominant short form, casual and warm) and the rare Jems each carry distinct registers; the alternate spellings Jemma (the English-American spelling), Gemma (the Italian original), and Gemmah have their own SSA tracking. International forms include Gemma (Italian original), Gema (Spanish), and the original Latin gemma.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.
Quick Facts About Jemma
US Popularity History (2010–2025)
Annual US births named Jemma by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2018 with 594 girls named Jemma (girl rank #527 that year).
Where it stands today: in 2025, ranked #866 for girls (313 US births). That's 339 places below its 2018 peak.
Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.
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Where in the US Is Jemma Most Popular?
Average girl-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's girls-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Jemma the strongest states are South Dakota, Nebraska, Idaho.
Strongest girls-name states
Weakest girls-name states
| # | State | Avg rank | Births |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia | #892 | 75 |
| 2 | New Jersey | #805 | 76 |
| 3 | California | #803 | 371 |
| 4 | New York | #794 | 187 |
| 5 | Texas | #770 | 365 |
| 6 | Georgia | #738 | 102 |
| 7 | Tennessee | #737 | 90 |
| 8 | Arizona | #725 | 83 |
| 9 | South Carolina | #725 | 18 |
| 10 | Illinois | #701 | 112 |
Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Jemma in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.
Looking for names like Jemma?
A dedicated page with 60+ related names — spelling variants, rhymes, alliterations, same-origin matches, and shared meaning concepts — lives at its own URL so each kind of similarity gets a deeper treatment than fits here.
Compare Jemma to Other Popular Names
Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Jemma against today's most popular girls-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).