Boy · Germanic, through Norman French
Geoffrey
Say it: JEF-ree
Meaning
Germanic, but the source is debated: perhaps Gottfried, or a blend of names ending in frid 'peace'.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
A favourite Norman name in medieval England; the spelling Jeffrey was popular in America in the 1960s to 1980s.
Its wave through time
Fading since the 1970s
In the United States
- 54,326 babies given this name since 1895
- At its height in 1975, about 1 in 1,100 boys
- 46 babies in 2020
Through the ages
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- The Renaissance1400 to 1600
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Jeffrey, Jeff, Geffrey, Galfrid
| French | Geoffroy |
|---|---|
| Italian | Goffredo |
| Latin | Galfridus |
Famous bearers
- Geoffrey Chaucer, poet
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, chronicler
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- English poll taxes and lay subsidy rolls (13th and 14th centuries)
- Well-known works of literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- Medieval European charters and records
- Royal and noble genealogies
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.