Jeffrey
Jeffrey was given to 544 boys in 2025, #552 among boys’ names; 983,099 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 812,000 Americans named Jeffrey and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (83% of everyone recorded); the median is 56 years old and half are between 44 and 64.
Jeffrey is the #27 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Jeffrey by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Jeffrey mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Jeffrey is “a male given name from the Germanic languages, the usual U.S. spelling of Geoffrey. Popular in the latter half of the 20th century.”
Variant of Geoffrey.
/ˈd͡ʒɛfɹi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Jeffrey?
#552 among boys’ names, 2025
Jeffrey fell from #290 in 2015 to #552 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.66 to 0.32 per 1,000.
33,615 babies in 1962, the peak
Jeffrey peaked in 1962, when 33,615 babies were given it (33,537 boys, #10 among boys’ names). The 544 births of 2025 are 2% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 544 | #552 | 0.32 |
| 2024 | 588 | #520 | 0.34 |
| 2023 | 622 | #485 | 0.36 |
| 2022 | 681 | #452 | 0.39 |
| 2021 | 727 | #427 | 0.42 |
| 2020 | 794 | #386 | 0.46 |
| 2019 | 881 | #364 | 0.49 |
| 2018 | 1,016 | #329 | 0.56 |
| 2017 | 1,056 | #324 | 0.57 |
| 2016 | 1,173 | #301 | 0.62 |
Every recorded year (117)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,261 | #290 | 0.66 |
| 2014 | 1,380 | #266 | 0.72 |
| 2013 | 1,406 | #256 | 0.74 |
| 2012 | 1,508 | #240 | 0.79 |
| 2011 | 1,440 | #246 | 0.76 |
| 2010 | 1,625 | #221 | 0.85 |
| 2009 | 1,719 | #216 | 0.87 |
| 2008 | 1,998 | #198 | 1.0 |
| 2007 | 2,131 | #191 | 1.0 |
| 2006 | 2,267 | #180 | 1.1 |
| 2005 | 2,425 | #171 | 1.2 |
| 2004 | 2,723 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 2003 | 2,885 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 2002 | 3,000 | #132 | 1.5 |
| 2001 | 3,207 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 2000 | 3,563 | #104 | 1.8 |
| 1999 | 3,815 | #100 | 2.0 |
| 1998 | 4,191 | #91 | 2.2 |
| 1997 | 4,582 | #84 | 2.4 |
| 1996 | 5,263 | #72 | 2.8 |
| 1995 | 5,731 | #64 | 3.0 |
| 1994 | 6,525 | #55 | 3.4 |
| 1993 | 7,535 | #53 | 3.8 |
| 1992 | 8,471 | #51 | 4.2 |
| 1991 | 9,894 | #45 | 4.9 |
| 1990 | 10,980 | #43 | 5.3 |
| 1989 | 12,013 | #37 | 6.0 |
| 1988 | 12,401 | #36 | 6.5 |
| 1987 | 13,477 | #32 | 7.2 |
| 1986 | 13,651 | #32 | 7.4 |
| 1985 | 14,500 | #29 | 7.8 |
| 1984 | 14,758 | #28 | 8.2 |
| 1983 | 15,649 | #28 | 8.7 |
| 1982 | 16,030 | #29 | 8.8 |
| 1981 | 15,931 | #29 | 8.9 |
| 1980 | 16,379 | #27 | 9.2 |
| 1979 | 16,865 | #24 | 9.8 |
| 1978 | 16,989 | #19 | 10.3 |
| 1977 | 17,481 | #19 | 10.6 |
| 1976 | 17,013 | #17 | 10.8 |
| 1975 | 18,316 | #14 | 11.7 |
| 1974 | 19,320 | #15 | 12.3 |
| 1973 | 19,216 | #17 | 12.3 |
| 1972 | 21,677 | #17 | 13.4 |
| 1971 | 25,834 | #12 | 14.6 |
| 1970 | 30,139 | #11 | 16.2 |
| 1969 | 28,967 | #11 | 16.2 |
| 1968 | 28,369 | #11 | 16.3 |
| 1967 | 28,083 | #13 | 16.1 |
| 1966 | 30,200 | #9 | 16.9 |
| 1965 | 29,574 | #10 | 15.9 |
| 1964 | 30,728 | #10 | 15.4 |
| 1963 | 31,701 | #10 | 15.6 |
| 1962 | 33,537 | #10 | 16.2 |
| 1961 | 32,029 | #11 | 15.1 |
| 1960 | 28,841 | #14 | 13.5 |
| 1959 | 26,281 | #16 | 12.3 |
| 1958 | 24,223 | #21 | 11.4 |
| 1957 | 23,982 | #21 | 11.1 |
| 1956 | 23,285 | #20 | 11.0 |
| 1955 | 22,533 | #20 | 10.9 |
| 1954 | 19,052 | #23 | 9.3 |
| 1953 | 15,949 | #25 | 8.1 |
| 1952 | 12,006 | #31 | 6.2 |
| 1951 | 9,713 | #35 | 5.2 |
| 1950 | 7,644 | #43 | 4.3 |
| 1949 | 6,987 | #48 | 3.9 |
| 1948 | 5,929 | #58 | 3.4 |
| 1947 | 5,665 | #66 | 3.1 |
| 1946 | 4,125 | #78 | 2.5 |
| 1945 | 2,782 | #91 | 2.1 |
| 1944 | 2,325 | #101 | 1.7 |
| 1943 | 2,171 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1942 | 2,055 | #116 | 1.5 |
| 1941 | 1,502 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1940 | 799 | #183 | 0.69 |
| 1939 | 378 | #284 | 0.34 |
| 1938 | 156 | #465 | 0.14 |
| 1937 | 87 | #625 | 0.08 |
| 1936 | 69 | #722 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 43 | #975 | 0.04 |
| 1934 | 47 | #925 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 36 | #1,097 | 0.04 |
| 1932 | 37 | #1,118 | 0.04 |
| 1931 | 16 | #1,888 | 0.02 |
| 1930 | 34 | #1,225 | 0.03 |
| 1929 | 19 | #1,759 | 0.02 |
| 1928 | 36 | #1,200 | 0.03 |
| 1927 | 26 | #1,495 | 0.02 |
| 1926 | 27 | #1,418 | 0.02 |
| 1925 | 26 | #1,476 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 31 | #1,341 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 27 | #1,447 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 30 | #1,358 | 0.03 |
| 1921 | 19 | #1,865 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 22 | #1,666 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 22 | #1,599 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 16 | #2,034 | 0.02 |
| 1917 | 18 | #1,780 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 21 | #1,570 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 21 | #1,532 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 11 | #2,037 | 0.02 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,539 | 0.03 |
| 1912 | 12 | #1,476 | 0.03 |
| 1911 | 6 | #1,634 | 0.03 |
| 1910 | 7 | #1,369 | 0.04 |
| 1885 | 5 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Jeffrey a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Jeffrey has been given almost only to boys: 3,498 girls in 117 years of records.
Girls and boys named Jeffrey: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Jeffrey, and how old are they?
812,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 83% of the 983,099 Americans ever recorded as Jeffrey. The median Jeffrey alive today is 56 years old; half are between 44 and 64.
The 2020 Census counted 735,428 people named Jeffrey (602 women and girls, 734,826 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 854,997 born in the U.S. The Census count is 14% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 4,600 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 259,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 320,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 174,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 42,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 12,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Jeffrey born?
The states with the most babies named Jeffrey are California, New York and Ohio, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 90,878 | #620 | 0.9× |
| New York | 84,199 | #474 | 1.1× |
| Ohio | 67,500 | #368 | 1.3× |
| Pennsylvania | 67,054 | #514 | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 55,938 | #504 | 1.1× |
| Michigan | 51,010 | #414 | 1.2× |
| Texas | 36,056 | #724 | 0.5× |
| New Jersey | 33,036 | #350 | 1.1× |
| Wisconsin | 32,035 | #423 | 1.5× |
| Massachusetts | 31,093 | #392 | 1.2× |
Where Jeffrey is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Jeffrey is most over-represented in Wisconsin: since 1910 it was given 1.5 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Jeffrey with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,237,536 babies since 1880, Jeffrey is the most given (79% of them). In 2025 it was given to 544 of their 675 babies (81%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Jeffrey
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Jeffrey and names like it
- Compare Jeffrey and JefferyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sJeffrey peaked in 1962.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Jeffrey since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Jeffrey: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Jeffrey.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Jeffrey alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with JMost given first.