Jeff
Short form of Jeffrey, the English spelling of Geoffrey, a Norman name ending in the Germanic frid, peace, after a first element read as either territory or traveler.
Jeff in 2025
Jeff was given to 35 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 7,176th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 94,724 babies born.
The history of Jeff
Jeff reached its highest point in 1961, when 9,474 babies were given the name, ranking 96th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 91st, in 1962.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 120,502 babies have been named Jeff. Half of them were born before 1962, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Baby Boomers.
Jeff by decade
| Decade | Babies named Jeff | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 685 | 341 |
| 1890s | 661 | 454 |
| 1900s | 605 | 614 |
| 1910s | 1,532 | 702 |
| 1920s | 1,871 | 875 |
| 1930s | 1,527 | 888 |
| 1940s | 5,909 | 432 |
| 1950s | 24,959 | 109 |
| 1960s | 62,219 | 91 |
| 1970s | 12,284 | 246 |
| 1980s | 3,814 | 751 |
| 1990s | 1,890 | 1,420 |
| 2000s | 1,518 | 2,082 |
| 2010s | 770 | 3,232 |
| 2020s | 258 | 5,209 |
Where Jeff is heading
Jeff has fallen 51% over the past decade, from 72 babies in 2015 to 35 in 2025.
That is less than 5% of its 1961 peak — Jeff is now a rare name in the United States.
Names like Jeff
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Jeff.