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.

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.

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.

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