It is of Hebrew origin, and the meaning of Jemima is  dove . Biblical: eldest of the three daughters of Job (see also Keren and Kezia), renowned as the most beautiful women of their time. The name has been recorded from the early 1700s in England.
(Tom Colburn / Houston Chronicle). (R-L) actor Patrick Swayze, his mother Patsy Swayze and his wife Lisa Haapaniemi (aka Niemi) dance at Patsy Swayze's dance studio in Houston in 1978. (Tom Colburn / Houston Chronicle).
1 Albert DePrisco, left, and author, actor and director Lisa Niemi Swayze at a book signing event at DePrisco Jewelers in Wellesley on November 30, 2013. 2  Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi. They were married 34 years until he died of pancreatic cancer in 2009. Niemi's form of release and recovery from losing Swayze was through her best-selling book, Worth Fighting For: Love, Loss and Moving Forward..