Boys' name · since 1880
Jeff
Jeff has 120,239 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1961 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #276 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #3,314 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 120,239
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Yes -- Jeff is the #3314 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 120,239 recorded since 1880.
Jeff has 120,239 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #3314 as of the latest data, more common than 76% of boys, busiest in the 1960s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #276 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #3,314 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 120,239 born since 1880
- 1960s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Jeff ranks #276 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,314 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 120,239 born since 1880, peaking in the 1960s.
- #276 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #3,314 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 120,239
- born since 1880
- 1960s
- peak decade
Jeff's 120,239 recorded births place it above 99.39% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Jeff compares
120,239 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Jeff's all-time total is 326x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Jeff | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 120,239 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 9,463 | 34 | 22,252 |
Jeff's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Jeff splits its recorded history at 1953: 88% of all births land in the more recent half, 12% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 2023 (35 births) -- compare that against the 1961 peak of 9,463 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Jeff popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1961)
- 9,463
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Jeff popularity over time - girls
263 total births recorded since 1925 (Jeff as girls' name)
Jeff by decade
1960s is the heaviest window (62,072 births, 52% of the file).
1960s was Jeff's strongest decade.
62,072 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 52% of all-time use.
Jeff births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 685
1880s
685 births
- 1890s 661
1890s
661 births
- 1900s 605
1900s
605 births
- 1910s 1,532
1910s
1,532 births
- 1920s 1,861
1920s
1,861 births
- 1930s 1,522
1930s
1,522 births
- 1940s 5,909
1940s
5,909 births
- 1950s
1950s
24,920 births
- 1960s
1960s
62,072 births
- 1970s 12,249
1970s
12,249 births
- 1980s 3,787
1980s
3,787 births
- 1990s 1,890
1990s
1,890 births
- 2000s 1,518
2000s
1,518 births
- 2010s 770
2010s
770 births
- 2020s 258
2020s
258 births
What this shows Peak: 1960s at 62,072 births (52% of all-time use).
How Jeff compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Jeff's total volume
Jeff by state
Where Jeff concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 14,477 | 12.0% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 7,888 | 6.6% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 6,505 | 5.4% |
| #4 | Texas | | 6,402 | 5.3% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 5,921 | 4.9% |
| #6 | New York | | 4,711 | 3.9% |
| #7 | Indiana | | 4,544 | 3.8% |
| #8 | Pennsylvania | | 3,735 | 3.1% |
14,477 of 120,239 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Jeff appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Jeff's data
- Jeff's decade-level peak was the 1960s (62,072 total births); usage has since declined to 258 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Jeffs (14,477 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Jeff
Nearby Names Like Jeff
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Jeff
Compare Jeff side by side: Jeff vs Jeffrey Jeff vs Jeffery Jeff vs Jefferson
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Jeff
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Jeff: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1961)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Jeff draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.