Semaj is the name James spelled backwards, an invention that caught on in African American families in the 1990s; through James it leads back to the Hebrew Jacob, "supplanter". Reversed names like Nevaeh show the same creative spirit. In the United States Semaj entered the top 1000 in 2001, peaked at number 627 in 2011 and has hovered around the line since, ranking number 1027 in 2025.