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).
Patrick Swayze's doctor's smoking advice may hasten death. Actor Patrick Swayze, a life-long heavy smoker, died of pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009. The next day his Stanford University treating oncologist, Dr. George A. Fisher, was interviewed on Larry King Live (transcript | video clip at top). He continued to smoke.