This French feminine version of Germain is a unisex choice in the U.S., also spelled Jermaine, Jemaine, and Germain. Rooted in the ancient Latin Germanus, which may mean sprout or brother, it's no longer a fashionable choice in any version.

Saint Germain, the intellectual center of Paris, lends the name a creative aura. But most Americans would say jer-mayn. The Latin Germanus may mean sprout or bud, or brother.

A Jackson brother name also associated with the similar-sounding Jemaine, of Flight of the Conchords fame. It has slowly lost its appeal since its peak years in the 1970s.

First used by the ancient Romans to describe a tribe of people, Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop and saint in Gaul.