Jump to content

Jeffrey (name)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Kirby777 (talk | contribs) at 03:43, 30 January 2021 (→‎Entertainment: Davis). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Jeffrey
Pronunciation/ˈɛfri/ JEF-ree
Gendermasculine
Origin
Word/nameFrancia, medieval France, Norman England
Other names
DerivedGodfrey, Gottfried
Related namesGeoffrey, Jeff, Jeffry, Jeffy, Jefrey, Jeffery, Jeffeory Jefferson

Jeffrey is a common English given name, and a variant form of the name Geoffrey (itself from a Middle French variant of Godfrey, Gottfried).[1]

It has been argued that the common derivation of Middle French Geoffrey, Jeffery from Godfrey is mistaken, and that the names reflect two separate first Germanic elements god vs. gaut, which became conflated in Old High German by the end of the early medieval period.[2]

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.

People with the name Jeffrey

Academia

Art

Business

Crime

Entertainment

Literature

Military

Sport

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ^ Behind the Name: Meaning, Origin and History of the Name Geoffrey
  2. ^ Albert Dauzat, Noms et prénoms de France, Librairie Larousse 1980, édition revue et commentée par Marie-Thérèse Morlet. p. 287b - 288a - 296ab.