2000
#8,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,380
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.25
Rare Last name
Jeffreys
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Jeffrey," derived from the Germanic given name meaning "district" and "peace."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,671 Americans carry the last name Jeffreys. That puts it at #9,683 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 93,368 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Jeffreys 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 Jeffreys with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.7K
1 in 93,368
Census rank
#9,683
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,201 bearers of the surname Jeffreys in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9683rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffreys, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Jeffreys
The surname Jeffreys originates from England, and it is believed to have emerged during the medieval period. The name is derived from the given name Jeffrey, which is an anglicized version of the Old French name Geoffroi, itself derived from the Germanic name Godafrid, meaning "peace of God."
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Jeffreys can be traced back to the 13th century. In the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, there is a reference to a man named Geffrey de la Hethe. This suggests that the surname was initially used as a descriptive name, indicating a person's place of origin or residence.
The Jeffreys surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest and most prominent figures bearing this name was Sir George Jeffreys (1645-1689), an English judge infamous for his brutality during the Bloody Assizes. He gained notoriety for his harsh sentences against those involved in the Monmouth Rebellion of 1685.
Another notable bearer of the Jeffreys surname was John Jeffreys (1609-1677), a Welsh-born judge and politician who served as Chief Justice of the Carmarthen Circuit in Wales. He was also a member of the Long Parliament during the English Civil War.
In the realm of literature, the surname Jeffreys is associated with Richard Jefferies (1848-1887), a renowned English nature writer and novelist. His works, such as "Bevis: The Story of a Boy" and "The Story of My Heart," celebrated the beauty of the English countryside and explored themes of naturalism and spirituality.
During the 18th century, George Jeffreys (1678-1755), an English writer and scholar, gained recognition for his contributions to literary criticism and his work as a translator of classical texts. He is particularly known for his editions of the works of Edmund Spenser and William Shakespeare.
Another notable figure with the Jeffreys surname is John Jeffreys (1744-1819), a British Naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and the French Revolutionary Wars. He rose to the rank of Vice Admiral and played a significant role in several naval engagements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Jeffreys
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffreys, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Jeffreys 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 Jeffreys surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.9% · 2,268
- Black or African American19.2% · 615
- Two or more races5.9% · 189
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 86
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Jeffreys
Jeffreys 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
#9,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,308
-72 bearers (-2.1%)
Per 100,000 1.12
Rank movement Down 885 places
2020
#9,683
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,201
-107 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 105 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,903 | 3,380 | 1.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,788 | 3,308 | 1.12 | -72 bearers (-2.1%) | Down 885 places |
| 2020 | #9,683 | 3,201 | 1.07 | -107 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 105 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 Jeffreys 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 | #9,788 | #9,683 | 1.1% |
| Count | 3,308 | 3,201 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.12 | 1.07 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Jeffreys bearers went from 3,308 to 3,201 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 105 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,788 to #9,683.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Jeffreys
FAQ
Jeffreys surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Jeffreys?
Name Census estimates that about 3,671 living Americans carry the surname Jeffreys. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 93,368 residents.
How common is Jeffreys?
Jeffreys ranks #9,683 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,201 people with the surname Jeffreys. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,671), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Jeffreys.
Has Jeffreys become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Jeffreys went from 3,308 recorded bearers to 3,201. That is a decrease of 107 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,788 to #9,683.
What does the Census say about the background of Jeffreys?
Among Census respondents with the surname Jeffreys, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.9%. The next largest groups are Black (19.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Jeffreys in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.9% (2,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Jeffreys appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.9%), Black (19.2%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Jeffreys (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 Jeffreys mean?
A patronymic surname meaning "son of Jeffrey," derived from the Germanic given name meaning "district" and "peace." 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 Jeffreys (1.07 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 Americans have the surname Jeffreys?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.