Jefferson
Masculine · “Son of Jeffrey”
Jefferson began as a surname — literally the son of a Jeffrey — and it has spent the last few centuries doing something surnames rarely manage: it became a first name on two continents at once. In English it carries the weight of an American founding document; in Brazil and across Spanish-speaking Latin America it has been an everyday given name for generations. Three syllables, a soft landing, and one obvious short form waiting inside it.
How old is the name Jefferson?
Jefferson was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Jefferson alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 18,500 people named Jefferson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Jefferson most popular?
Jefferson peaked in 1891, reaching #251 nationally. Today it ranks #829, 578 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Jefferson appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From Godefrid to Jefferson
The story of Jefferson
Jefferson is one of the English patronymic surnames formed the plain way — Jeffrey's son, then Jefferson — and it belongs to the same family of names as Jackson, Harrison and Dickson. Its move into first-name territory came through the American habit of handing children a surname as a tribute, and the surname most often being honored was that of Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States and drafter of the Declaration of Independence. From the nineteenth century it also took root in Latin America, particularly Brazil and Ecuador, where Jefferson and the single-f Jeferson are ordinary given names rather than borrowed ones. That double life is unusual, and it is why the name reads as historic in one household and simply current in another.
Meaning
Son of Jeffrey
The patronymic reading is not in doubt. What sits behind Jeffrey is less tidy: the second element is the Germanic frid, 'peace', while scholars disagree over the first, which has been read as gawia 'territory', walah 'stranger', and gaut, the tribal name.
How the name formed
- Godefrid
- Geoffrey
- Jeffrey
- Jefferson
Related forms: Jefferson · Jefferson · Jeferson · Jeffrey · Geoffroy · Geoffrey
Pronouncing Jefferson
JEF-er-sun
Stress on the first syllable in English. Spanish and Portuguese speakers keep the same three syllables with a lighter final one, closer to zheh-fer-SOHN in Brazil.
Nicknames for Jefferson
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 2016432 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #251reached in 1891
- Change vs 2022
- −10.2%298 in 2025, from 332
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Jefferson in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Jefferson in Portuguese — same name
- Jefferson in Spanish — same name
- Jeferson in Portuguese — spelling variant
- Jeffrey in English — related form
- Geoffroy in French — related form
- Geoffrey in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, New York.
Jeffersons among us
people named Jefferson are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,732 born in 2025 was named Jefferson
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Jefferson sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Jefferson is headed
Jefferson should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Jefferson beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Jefferson in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Works as both a first name and a surname, so it sits comfortably in formal settings and on paperwork without explanation.
- Spelling is already familiar to most Americans from maps and history books, even to people who have never met a Jefferson.
- Comes with Jeff ready-made — a short form with a long, unbroken record of its own.
- Functions as a real given name in Portuguese and Spanish as well as English, useful in a bilingual family.
- Common enough to be recognized instantly, uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it in a classroom.
- The presidential association arrives whether you want it or not, and Thomas Jefferson's legacy is actively debated — a slaveholder as well as a drafter of the Declaration. Some families find that a conversation worth having; others would rather not have it handed to them.
- The name is attached to a great many counties, cities, streets and high schools. Expect the occasional 'like the street?' rather than 'like the president?'.
- Latin America uses the single-f Jeferson widely, so the double f will sometimes be dropped or queried — a small, lifelong correction.
- Jeff is the near-inevitable short form, and it currently reads as a name belonging to older generations rather than to schoolchildren. Worth deciding in advance whether that suits you.
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What they receive
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Jefferson
Masculine · #829 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Jeffersons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 18,500 people named Jefferson are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Jefferson in 2025?
- Jefferson ranks #829 among US boy names in 2025, with 298 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Jefferson?
- About 1 in every 5,732 US boys born in 2025 was named Jefferson — 298 in all.
- Will my child share the name Jefferson with classmates?
- Jefferson will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Jefferson
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ignacio#829 · Bjorn#829 · Flynn#827 · Drake#827 · Roger#832 · Rayden#832 · Avi#832 · Yisroel#824
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Jefferson? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Jefferson and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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