2000
#3,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,048
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.35
Uncommon Last name
Jeffery
Derived from a medieval personal name, from the Old French Jefroi, Jeufroi, or Gefrey, meaning "district, region, or traveler."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,804 Americans carry the last name Jeffery. That puts it at #3,672 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,725 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jeffery surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Jeffery with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 31,725
Census rank
#3,672
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.4K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,422 bearers of the surname Jeffery in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3672nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffery, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jeffery
The surname Jeffery originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the French personal name "Geoffrey" or "Godfrey," which means "peace of God" or "peaceful." The name Godfrey itself is a combination of the Old German words "god" and "frid," meaning "god" and "peace," respectively.
The Jeffery surname is thought to have first appeared in the county of Buckinghamshire, England. Records from the time mention individuals with the surname Jeffery residing in the parish of Great Missenden in Buckinghamshire. The earliest known recorded instance of the surname is in the Pipe Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1176, where a certain William Jeffery is mentioned.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a landowner named "Geoffrei" is listed in the county of Suffolk. This is likely an early variation of the name Geoffrey, from which the surname Jeffery later derived. The Jeffery surname also appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which were a survey of landowners and tenants during the reign of King Edward I.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Jeffery surname was Sir John Jeffery, who was born in Wiltshire, England, in 1349. He served as a Member of Parliament for Wiltshire in 1376 and 1378. Another notable individual was Sir Robert Jeffery, born in 1592 in Gloucestershire, England. He was a prominent lawyer and served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the 17th century.
In the 16th century, the surname Jeffery was also associated with the village of Jeffery Hamlet in Buckinghamshire, which likely derived its name from early residents with the Jeffery surname. One well-known bearer of the name was William Jeffery, born in 1616 in Gloucestershire, who served as a member of Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate Parliament in 1654.
Other notable individuals with the surname Jeffery throughout history include:
1. George Jeffery (1639-1677), an English painter known for his portraiture and historical works.
2. John Jeffery (1701-1767), a British landowner and philanthropist who established the Jeffery Prize at Christ's College, Cambridge.
3. Thomas Jeffery (1776-1856), an English clergyman and author who wrote extensively on theology and biblical criticism.
4. Walter Jeffery (1893-1966), a British colonial administrator who served as Governor of British Guiana from 1950 to 1953.
5. Roger Jeffery (born 1943), a British anthropologist and scholar known for his work on gender and social change in India.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeffery
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffery, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Jeffery bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Jeffery surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.6% · 6,091
- Black or African American25.4% · 2,390
- Two or more races4.7% · 442
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 378
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 72
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 49
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jeffery
Jeffery appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,638
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,766
+718 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 3.31
Rank movement Down 27 places
2020
#3,672
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,422
-344 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 3.15
Rank movement Down 34 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,611 | 9,048 | 3.35 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,638 | 9,766 | 3.31 | +718 bearers (+7.9%) | Down 27 places |
| 2020 | #3,672 | 9,422 | 3.15 | -344 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 34 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Jeffery surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,638 | #3,672 | -0.9% |
| Count | 9,766 | 9,422 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 3.31 | 3.15 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jeffery bearers went from 9,766 to 9,422 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 34 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,638 to #3,672.
FAQ
Jeffery surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jeffery?
Name Census estimates that about 10,804 living Americans carry the surname Jeffery. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,725 residents.
How common is Jeffery?
Jeffery ranks #3,672 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,422 people with the surname Jeffery. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,804), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Jeffery.
Has Jeffery become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jeffery went from 9,766 recorded bearers to 9,422. That is a decrease of 344 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,638 to #3,672.
What does the Census say about the background of Jeffery?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffery, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.6%. The next largest groups are Black (25.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Jeffery in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.6% (6,091 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jeffery appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.6%), Black (25.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Jeffery (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Jeffery mean?
Derived from a medieval personal name, from the Old French Jefroi, Jeufroi, or Gefrey, meaning "district, region, or traveler." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Jeffery (3.15 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Jeffery?
Want to know how many people are called Jeffery? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.