boy's name
Jeff
JEF
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 123,564
Scotland
#725
2008 births
Jeff means peace, shortened from Geoffrey — but the first element of that compound is disputed between three different Germanic words, so only the peace half of the name is actually agreed on by the sources.
- Jeff is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1961, when 9,474 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 94,733 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Jeff over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 685 |
| 1890s | 661 |
| 1900s | 605 |
| 1910s | 1,532 |
| 1920s | 1,871 |
| 1930s | 1,527 |
| 1940s | 5,909 |
| 1950s | 24,959 |
| 1960s | 62,219 |
| 1970s | 12,284 |
| 1980s | 3,814 |
| 1990s | 1,890 |
| 2000s | 1,518 |
| 2010s | 770 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 258 |
What Jeff means
Jeff means peace, carried from Geoffrey. The second element is settled; the first is variously read as territory, a traveler or a pledge, and the sources disagree.
Where Jeff comes from
Jeff shortens Geoffrey or Jeffrey, from a Germanic compound whose second element is frid, peace, and whose first is genuinely disputed — gawia, territory, gawi, a traveler, and gisil, a pledge, are all proposed, and the name may represent more than one original that fell together. Geoffrey of Monmouth wrote the history that gave Europe King Arthur, and Chaucer's first name is the same. Jeff became a registered name in its own right in twentieth-century America alongside Chris, Mike and Steve.
Jeff in use
Jeff peaked in the United States in 1961, when 9,474 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 1004th in Ireland on 3 births, 3351st in the United States on 35 and 6129th in France, across 123,564 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Ireland ranking it above America is the surprise in an otherwise straightforwardly American name.
How popular is Jeff?
In 2025, Jeff was given to 35 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Jeff is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Jeff
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Jeff also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Jeff over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Jeff in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Jeff
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Jeff — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Jeff
What does the name Jeff mean?
Peace, carried from Geoffrey — though the first element of that compound is disputed.
Is it Geoffrey or Jeffrey?
Both are the same name; Geoffrey is the older English spelling and Jeffrey the more American.
Is Godfrey the same name?
No — Godfrey is God-peace, a separate compound sharing only the second element.
How popular is Jeff?
3351st in the United States, down from a 1961 peak of 9,463 births.
Is Jeff a girl's or a boy's name?
Jeff is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Jeff?
Jeff has 1 syllable.
Is Jeff a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Jeff currently ranks #1,004 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.