Jeffrey
Germanic, either gawia “territory” or frid “peace” plus frid, so roughly “peaceful land.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
A medieval form of Geoffrey that Americans made a midcentury standard.
Jeffrey first shows up in the national records in 1885. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1945 to 1999. It spent 5 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1962, when 33,537 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 10 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1966, at No. 9. In 2025 it ranked No. 552 for boys. All told, 983,099 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Jeffery (231,818), Jeffry (15,410), Jefferey (3,973), Jeffory (1,166), Jeffrie (1,020), Jefrey (767) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Jeff
Explore Jeffrey interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5 | No. 936 |
| 1910s | 147 | No. 1314 |
| 1920s | 263 | No. 1188 |
| 1930s | 903 | No. 284 |
| 1940s | 34,340 | No. 48 |
| 1950s | 184,668 | No. 16 |
| 1960s | 302,029 | No. 9 |
| 1970s | 202,850 | No. 11 |
| 1980s | 144,789 | No. 27 |
| 1990s | 66,987 | No. 43 |
| 2000s | 25,918 | No. 104 |
| 2010s | 12,746 | No. 221 |
| 2020s | 3,956 | No. 386 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.