NameCensus.
Very Rare

Jerey

A masculine name derived from the Hebrew name "Jeremiah", meaning "exalted of the Lord".

Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Jerey. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Jerey today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Jerey births was 1987 (5 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Jerey. 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.

Key insights

  • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Jerey. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.

People living today

5

~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans

Peak year

1987

5 babies that year

Average age

38

years old

1987 SSA rank

#7,494

Tracked since 1987

Popularity

Jerey: popularity over time

Babies born per year

01345

Decades

Jerey 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 Jerey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1980s505

Origin

Meaning and history of Jerey

The name Jerey is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, where it was derived from the combination of the Germanic elements "ger" meaning "spear" and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "powerful." This suggests that the name likely held connotations of strength, valor, and authority in its early usage.

During the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which lasted from the 5th to the 11th centuries, variations of the name, such as "Gærric" and "Gærric," were relatively common among the nobility and warrior classes. It is possible that the name gained popularity as a way to bestow a sense of bravery and leadership upon the bearer.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Jerey of Auxerre, a 9th-century Frankish scholar and writer who served as the abbot of the Abbey of St. Germain in Auxerre, France. His literary works, including commentaries on the Bible and treatises on grammar and logic, were highly influential during the Carolingian Renaissance.

In the 12th century, Jerey of Monmouth, a British cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography, wrote the influential work "Historia Regum Britanniae" (History of the Kings of Britain). This text, which blended historical facts with fictional accounts and legends, played a significant role in shaping the Arthurian myth and the portrayal of King Arthur in literature.

During the Middle Ages, the name Jerey was relatively common among the English nobility. One notable bearer was Jerey de Mandeville, a 12th-century Norman baron and crusader who fought in the Second Crusade and authored a popular travel memoir, "The Travels of Sir John Mandeville," which recounted his supposed journeys to the Holy Land and other exotic locales.

In the 16th century, Jerey Chaucer, the son of the renowned English poet Geoffrey Chaucer, served as a courtier and diplomat for the English Crown. He was influential in promoting his father's literary works and ensuring their preservation for future generations.

Another famous bearer of the name was Jerey Amherst, a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor General of British North America in the late 18th century. He played a crucial role in the conquest of French Canada during the French and Indian War and was later remembered for his controversial advocacy of biological warfare against Native Americans.

While the name Jerey has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of historical names that have shaped various cultures and societies throughout the centuries.

People

Jerey + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Jerey as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.

Related

Other names starting with J

Other first names starting with J with a similar number of bearers.

FAQ

Jerey: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Jerey?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Jerey 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 68,550,868 US residents.

Is Jerey a common name?

We classify Jerey as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Jerey most popular?

The single biggest year for Jerey was 1987, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Jerey is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

What does the SSA popularity chart show?

The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Jerey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.

Is Jerey a male name?

Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Jerey 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.

Is Jerey still being used today?

Yes. The SSA still recorded Jerey in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.

Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?

Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Jerey can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.

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.

Does every first name have Census demographic data?

No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.

How many people share the name Jerey?

Want to know how many Americans are named Jerey? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.

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Jerey

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