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Francia, medieval France, Norman England Geoffrey, Jeff, Jeffry, Jeffy, Jefrey, Jeffery, Jeffeory Jefferson |
Jeffrey /ˈdʒɛfri/ is a common English given name and, a variant form of the name Geoffrey (itself from a Middle French variant of Godfrey, Gottfried). It is most commonly spelled as Jeffrey, or with one f as in Jefrey.
It has been argued that the common derivation of Middle French Geoffrey, Jeffrey from Godfrey is mistaken, and that the names reflect to separate first Germanic elements god vs. gaut, which became conflated in Old High German by the end of the early medieval period.
The three-syllable alternative spelling Jeffery (pronounced "jef-fer-ree") is sometimes used as a variant given name. Outside of North America, Geoffrey is more common than Jeffrey. Jeffrey and its variants are found as surnames, usually as a patronymic ending in -s (e.g., Jefferies, Jaffrays); The surname Jefferson is also a patronymic version of the given name. In Scotland, Jeffrey is most frequently found to be a surname.
Variations include Jeff, Jeffry, Jeffy, Jeffery, Geoff, Geoffrey, Jeffeory, Geffrey, Jefferson, and Jeffro.
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