Jamie
Meaning
Scottish pet form of James, "supplanter"
Famously borne by Jamie Anderson, the two-time Olympic slopestyle snowboarding champion.
The story
Jamie began in Scotland as the affectionate form of James, the way Scots have said the name for centuries, which gives it the same ancient root: James traces back through Latin to the Hebrew Jacob, traditionally read as supplanter. What Scotland kept mostly for boys, America eventually opened to everyone. The name kept a low profile in the early American records, then climbed steadily from the 1940s onward, chosen for daughters and sons alike, and reached its peak in the 1970s and 1980s. Unlike many names of that era, it has refused to fade, holding a solid level right into the 2020s. Recent decades added fresh faces, from Jamie Lee Curtis to Outlander's Jamie Fraser, who returned the name to its Highland accent. Casual, friendly, and genuinely unisex long before that was fashionable, Jamie remains one of the easiest names to wear at any age.
The formal names behind Jamie
Jamie is an established short form of this name.
James · Hebrew origin · traditionally "supplanter," the English form of Jacob by way of the Late Latin Iacomus; the name of kings, two apostles, and more US presidents than any other. Royal in Britain, everyman in America, durable everywhere: Jim, Jamie, and Jem included
Jamie around the world
One shared root links 18 names across 5 languages.
Shared root: from Hebrew Ya'aqov, traditionally "holder of the heel, supplanter"; Late Latin split it into Jacobus and Iacomus, giving Europe both Jacob and James
The constellation
11 more branches of this family
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Jamie peaked in the 1970s and the 1980s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
91 people · the #44,082 first name in Brazil · median age 34
Among people named Jamie living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Jamie
Most people given the name Jamie in the United States were born between 1970 and 1999. The Jamie you meet today is most often in their 30s or 40s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Jamie deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Jamie truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Jamie fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Names like Jamie · Action sports names · Gender-neutral names
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