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Jeff as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Jeff

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The baby name Jeff is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /dʒɛf/ (JEFF).

Jeff is English in Origin.

Gender: Male
Syllables: 1.0
Origin: English
Pronunciation: /dʒɛf/ (JEFF)

What is the meaning of the name Jeff ?

The baby name Jeff is a Male name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /dʒɛf/ (JEFF).

Jeff is English in Origin.

Jeff is the English short form of Jeffrey/Geoffrey, carried into Britain by the Normans from Old French Geoffroi/Geoffroy. The underlying Germanic name is debated: it may combine gau/gawia “territory, district” with frid “peace,” or reflect got/god “god” + frid. Medieval usage often blurred Geoffrey with Godfrey (Godefroi), so modern glosses range from “peace of the district” to “God’s peace.” As a standalone given name, Jeff therefore inherits the broader sense of “peace” or “peaceful protector.”

Geoffrey dominated in medieval records, while Jeffrey and Jeffery rose in later Middle English. Jeff emerged as a common everyday nickname and, in the mid‑20th century, became an independent name, especially in the United States and Canada, peaking in the 1960s–70s. Variants and related forms include Geoffrey, Jeffrey, Jeffery, Jeffry; French Geoffroy; Catalan/Spanish Jofré; and the historically related Godfrey/Godefroy/Gottfried. Nicknames: Jeff, Geoff.

Jeff has the following similar or variant Names

Famous people with the name Jeff

Jeff Bridges Actor · Born 1949 · United States Jeff Bridges is an American actor best known for his role as 'The Dude' in the film The Big Lebowski. He has also starred in movies like Crazy Heart and True Grit, showcasing his versatility and talent across different genres. Jeff Bennett Actor · Born 1962 · United States Jeff Bennett is an American voice actor best known for voicing Johnny Bravo. He has also voiced Dexter and Dee Dee’s Dad in Dexter’s Laboratory, Brooklyn in Gargoyles, and the Man with the Yellow Hat in Curious George. Jeff Garlin Actor · Born 1962 · United States Jeff Garlin is best known for playing Jeff Greene on Curb Your Enthusiasm. He’s an American stand-up comedian and actor who also played Murray Goldberg, the dad on The Goldbergs.
Jeff Hardy Musician · Born 1977 · United States Jeff Hardy is best known as a professional wrestler, especially for his high-flying style and his work in WWE, TNA, and The Hardy Boyz. Born August 31, 1977, he is an American wrestler who has also been a four-time TNA World Tag Team Champion. Jeff Daniels Musician · Born 1955 · United States Jeff Daniels is an American actor best known for films like Dumb and Dumber, The Newsroom, and The Purple Rose of Cairo. Born on February 19, 1955, he has built a long career on stage and screen, known for moving easily between comedy and drama. Jeffrey Wright Actor · Born 1965 · United States Jeffrey Wright is an American actor best known for his role as Bernard Lowe in the TV series Westworld. He also gained recognition for his performances in films like The Hunger Games series and the James Bond film Casino Royale. Born in 1965, Wright has become a prominent figure in both film and television.

Celebrity babies named Jeff

Name Last Name(s) Mother Mother famous for Fame Level Father Father famous for Fame Level
Jeff Zinn Howard Zinn film director

Jeff – Popularity by country

Based on birth registration data from national statistics agencies.

Country Gender Year Rank Born of
Ireland Boys 2025 #1 836
KR 0 #8 1 201
HT Boys 0 #11 25 903
HT 0 #12 1 399
FJ Boys 0 #16 2 603
DJ 0 #17 1 322
BW 0 #18 2 960
SV Girls 0 #18 1 458
MV 0 #19 1 644
KR Boys 0 #25 3 897
TW Boys 0 #26 542 7,111
BN 0 #28 5 2,297
LU 0 #32 35 2,830
TW 0 #32 72 4,523
DJ Boys 0 #36 1 657
MO 0 #36 17 2,706
BI Boys 0 #42 3 917
CN 0 #42 44 3,857
MT 0 #43 1 1,767
PH 0 #46 51 5,607
CN Boys 0 #50 539 9,639
CM 0 #51 6 2,592
LU Boys 0 #53 281 4,970
PH Boys 0 #53 623 11,440
BN Boys 0 #61 74 6,332
JP 0 #68 10 4,057
IN 0 #70 2 2,963
QA 0 #75 26 7,011
MV Boys 0 #76 4 3,375
AO 0 #77 1 2,729
MO Boys 0 #77 190 5,842
MY Boys 0 #78 4,163 25,439
CR 0 #79 82 5,526
HK Boys 0 #86 1,849 12,905
JM 0 #87 7 3,714
MY 0 #93 282 12,352
OM 0 #100 17 6,215
BN Girls 0 #110 5 5,459
SG Boys 0 #110 1,440 17,960
EC 0 #116 6 2,502
KW 0 #116 6 5,216
CY Boys 0 #120 10 3,473
ID Boys 0 #121 11 4,130
EE Boys 0 #123 3 2,087
BW Boys 0 #125 25 4,685
SG 0 #127 155 11,010
MU 0 #129 9 3,613
AZ Boys 0 #131 1 1,400
IQ 0 #133 1 3,533
GR 0 #135 1 3,911
PA 0 #136 3 3,797
CR Boys 0 #142 718 10,188
HK 0 #143 258 8,483
AE 0 #148 30 10,220
LT Boys 0 #149 3 2,166
MT Boys 0 #149 28 4,064
BW Girls 0 #151 1 4,216
RS Boys 0 #152 3 2,277
PR Boys 0 #164 11 2,508
HU Boys 0 #166 9 3,954
GH Boys 0 #174 227 8,138
Sweden Boys 2022 #181 2 1,509
Belgium Boys 2017 #184 27 420
CZ 0 #184 3 3,154
EC Boys 0 #185 55 3,322
LU Girls 0 #188 3 4,850
RU 0 #188 7 3,641
AR 0 #193 1 2,915
DK 0 #193 11 5,198
SI Boys 0 #210 2 3,402
GH 0 #214 30 5,396
BG Boys 0 #217 4 3,850
NA Boys 0 #217 19 6,830
MU Boys 0 #220 144 8,477
PS 0 #221 6 5,692
JM Boys 0 #224 49 6,876
IR 0 #229 3 4,221
NG 0 #232 33 5,926
JP Boys 0 #233 65 7,909
NA Girls 0 #237 1 7,146
BD 0 #238 4 5,992
SA 0 #242 54 10,560
AO Boys 0 #243 7 5,568
DK Boys 0 #246 80 7,401
PT 0 #247 4 4,161
HR Boys 0 #252 8 3,997
GR Boys 0 #256 12 6,912
IL 0 #257 18 6,291
MO Girls 0 #259 5 7,056
AF Boys 0 #271 4 3,535
KZ Boys 0 #272 18 6,578
JM Girls 0 #277 2 7,507
ZA Boys 0 #280 2,203 25,619
TW Girls 0 #286 4 8,139
CZ Boys 0 #287 18 6,530
PE 0 #298 13 6,350
Canada Boys 2024 #301 6 2,588
AL Boys 0 #301 3 5,122
GT 0 #303 12 5,948
CM Boys 0 #312 284 12,054
PL Boys 0 #317 19 6,459
BR 0 #320 26 5,969
DK Girls 0 #328 2 7,429
PT Boys 0 #330 38 7,951
GH Girls 0 #333 5 6,973
JO Girls 0 #338 2 7,570
QA Girls 0 #339 5 15,378
NL 0 #342 50 2,481
CN Girls 0 #358 2 8,829
MU Girls 0 #358 5 8,539
SD Girls 0 #358 1 7,678
ZA 0 #359 89 14,421
JO Boys 0 #365 13 7,057
NG Boys 0 #366 1,105 16,906
GT Boys 0 #369 106 7,625
YE 0 #372 10 8,639
PH Girls 0 #380 11 13,098
France Boys 2021 #384 4 2,865
NL Boys 0 #385 859 5,873
UY Boys 0 #389 11 5,922
Austria Boys 0 #393 50 2,180
BR Boys 0 #399 450 12,213
BO 0 #401 8 6,868
Finland Boys 0 #404 24 2,041
MX 0 #404 10 8,339
Germany 0 #405 33 2,542
EG 0 #409 4 6,387
OM Girls 0 #418 7 15,987
Spain 0 #424 29 2,326
CL 0 #429 6 6,867
PA Boys 0 #431 51 9,305
CL Boys 0 #435 258 13,390
AR Boys 0 #437 31 7,628
CO 0 #446 35 7,768
RU Boys 0 #446 60 12,621
SD Boys 0 #461 6 10,523
BH 0 #474 80 17,937
QA Boys 0 #480 229 18,093
PS Boys 0 #481 68 10,655
KW Girls 0 #500 16 19,177
IR Boys 0 #512 41 10,162
RU Girls 0 #517 7 11,913
LY 0 #518 18 12,703
IL Boys 0 #520 88 10,983
IQ Girls 0 #524 2 11,303
BO Boys 0 #536 57 9,244
PE Boys 0 #537 411 14,506
GT Girls 0 #539 3 7,500
AE Girls 0 #544 10 20,968
IR Girls 0 #545 1 8,334
PS Girls 0 #547 1 10,981
CO Boys 0 #551 438 15,656
CM Girls 0 #553 8 11,671
SG Girls 0 #565 22 18,916
CR Girls 0 #570 4 11,342
LB 0 #592 67 13,263
HK Girls 0 #596 20 16,104
BD Boys 0 #598 8 10,045
KW Boys 0 #626 144 18,755
Germany Boys 0 #628 352 5,697
IQ Boys 0 #642 26 13,071
IL Girls 0 #644 2 11,648
IN Girls 0 #649 6 13,121
BO Girls 0 #651 1 9,488
IT 0 #660 55 4,183
Finland Boys 2026 #664 19 3,552
SY 0 #715 14 11,684
Spain Boys 0 #718 216 5,610
OM Boys 0 #734 148 17,948
AE Boys 0 #745 361 22,615
MX Boys 0 #749 237 16,355
NG Girls 0 #749 38 15,093
TN 0 #798 32 13,765
EG Boys 0 #838 49 15,035
CL Girls 0 #842 10 14,098
United States Boys 2024 #850 43 7,044
SA Boys 0 #856 955 28,008
IT Boys 0 #864 655 10,046
SA Girls 0 #910 26 25,931
IN Boys 0 #928 74 16,750
MY Girls 0 #930 65 24,821
BR Girls 0 #986 7 12,708
EG Girls 0 #1,009 1 14,742
PE Girls 0 #1,009 2 14,861
MA 0 #1,022 107 20,986
DZ 0 #1,072 105 20,130
ZA Girls 0 #1,103 39 25,928
TR 0 #1,112 100 19,440
CO Girls 0 #1,151 2 16,140
MX Girls 0 #1,263 5 17,781
IT Girls 0 #1,433 14 9,415

Jeff is popular in 93 countries — most recent births per country:

France
Canada
Flanders, Belgium
United States
Ireland

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People also ask about Jeff

Jeff is predominantly a boy's name.
Jeff is a one syllable name, pronounced /dʒɛf/ (JEFF).
Common nicknames and spelling variations include Jeffrey, Geoffrey, Jeffery, Jeffry, Jefferson and Geoff.
Across languages, Jeff has these equivalents: Geoffroy (French), Goffredo (Italian), Gottfried (German), Jef (Dutch/Flemish), Godfrey (English, related).
Yes, very popular — Jeff ranked #1 in Ireland in 2025, and appears in official birth registries across 8 countries.
Jeff ranks highest in Ireland (#1 in 2025).
Jeff's popularity is rising. It moved from #391 in 2011 to #384 in 2021 in France.
Yes — 29 notable people named Jeff are in our database, including Jeff Bridges (Actor), Jeff Bennett (Actor), Jeff Garlin (Actor).
Yes — at least 1 celebrity couple has chosen Jeff for their child, including Howard Zinn.