Geffrey
A masculine name of French origin meaning "journey" or "traveler".
Name Census estimates that about 198 living Americans carry the first name Geffrey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Geffrey today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Geffrey births was 1970 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Geffrey. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
198
~ 1 in 1,731,083 Americans
Peak year
1970
14 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2006 SSA rank
#12,674
Tracked since 1949
Popularity
Geffrey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Geffrey from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 74 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Geffrey by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Geffrey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Geffrey
The name Geffrey is an English variant of the French name Jeffrey, which is derived from the Old German name Godafrid. This name is composed of the elements "godu" meaning "god" and "fridu" meaning "peace". It essentially means "peace of God" or "divine peace".
Geffrey emerged as a spelling variation during the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th and 13th centuries, when names were often spelled differently depending on the region or the scribe who recorded them. The spelling "Geffrey" was commonly used in England and parts of Normandy.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Geffrey can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Several individuals with the name Geffrey were listed as landowners or tenants.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Geffrey was particularly popular among the nobility and upper classes in England. One notable bearer was Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou, who lived from around 1113 to 1151. He was the father of King Henry II of England and played a significant role in the conflicts between the Plantagenet and Angevin dynasties.
Another prominent figure was Geoffrey Chaucer, the acclaimed English poet and author who lived from around 1343 to 1400. He is best known for his literary masterpiece, "The Canterbury Tales", which is considered one of the greatest works of English literature.
In the 16th century, Geoffrey Fenton, an English writer and translator, lived from around 1539 to 1608. He is known for his translations of various works, including Guicciardini's history of the Wars in Italy.
Geoffrey de Havilland, an English aviation pioneer and aircraft designer, lived from 1882 to 1965. He co-founded the de Havilland Aircraft Company and designed several iconic aircraft, including the Moth and Mosquito.
Geoffrey Boycott, an English former cricketer, was born in 1940 and is considered one of the greatest batsmen in the history of the sport. He played for the English national team and was known for his defensive batting style.
People
Geffrey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Geffrey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Geffrey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Geffrey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 198 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Geffrey going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,731,083 US residents.
Is Geffrey a common name?
We classify Geffrey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 221 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Geffrey most popular?
The single biggest year for Geffrey was 1970, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Geffrey is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Geffrey a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Geffrey in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.