Jeff
Jeff was the 3342nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 35 babies. Its best year was 1962, when it ranked 44th; the most babies were born in 1961 (9,463). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,338 places. More babies were named Jeff in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning short form of Jeffrey · English, Germanic
Say it JEF /dʒɛf/
- Rank in 2025
- #3,342 boys, down 526 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 35boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19619,463 babies
- Total since 1880
- 120,502babies recorded
What does the name Jeff mean?
Jeff is a short form of Jeffrey and its variants, as Wiktionary notes. Jeffrey is a form of Geoffrey, from an Old French aristocratic name of Germanic origin. DMNES gives the second element as fridu 'peace' and the first as the tribal name Gaut, walh 'foreigner' or gaisa 'arrow'. Jeff was very common in the US in the 1950s to 1970s.
fridu (Old High German, “peace”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. The first element of Geoffrey is disputed.
Related names: Jeffrey, Geoffrey, Jeffery.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean peace.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Jeff', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Geoffrey', DMNES (Durham University)
Jeff popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 263 since 1925.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,342 | 35 |
| 2020 | #2,816 | 43 |
| 2010 | #1,458 | 113 |
| 2000 | #931 | 164 |
| 1990 | #643 | 249 |
| 1980 | #339 | 542 |
| 1970 | #116 | 2,881 |
| 1960 | #49 | 8,511 |
| 1950 | #291 | 539 |
| 1940 | #340 | 279 |
| 1930 | #444 | 177 |
| 1920 | #410 | 207 |
| 1910 | #267 | 83 |
| 1900 | #246 | 69 |
| 1890 | #177 | 77 |
| 1880 | #188 | 66 |
How popular is Jeff, counting every spelling?
Jeff is the most common spelling of a name family that had 35 boys in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 35 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff | 35 | #3,342 | 215 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Jeff?
35 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Jeff (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Jeff born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 240 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Jeff.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Jeff?
About 88,500 people born in the US named Jeff are alive today, with a median age of 63; half are between 58 and 66. That makes Jeff a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Jeff by state
How common Jeff was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. In 47 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Jeff: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Jeff, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Jeff · Sibling names for Jeff
Jeff is also a nickname for Jeffrey, Jefferson, Jeffery and Geoffrey.
Questions about the name Jeff
What does Jeff mean?
Jeff is usually explained as “short form of Jeffrey”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Jeff?
Jeff was the 3342nd most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 35 babies. Its best year was 1962, when it ranked 44th; the most babies were born in 1961 (9,463). Over the last ten years it has moved down 1,338 places. More babies were named Jeff in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Jeff a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Jeff in the US.
Where is Jeff most popular?
In 2021–2025, Jeff was most common in Florida (0.03 per 1,000 boys), followed by New York and California.