Jeffers
A surname from Geoffrey or Jeffrey, originally a medieval personal name meaning “God’s peace” or “peace of God.”
The #2,073 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,688 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jeffers is a surname formed from the medieval given name Geoffrey or Jeffrey. The old name is usually traced to Germanic elements meaning “God” and “peace,” though some early writers also explained it as a blend of elements meaning “joyful peace.” In practice, Jeffers is best understood as a descendant of Geoffrey/Jeffrey, with the final -s showing “son of” or family descent in English naming.
History
Nineteenth-century surname writers regularly grouped Jeffers with Jeffrey, Jeffries, Jeffs, Jefferson, and related forms. The name is found in Britain and Ireland, and later became well established in North America through migration. In Irish surname study, Jeffers is often treated as an Anglicized form or variant linked to the wider Jeffrey group rather than as a completely separate origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes spelled the same family-name group many different ways on nearby pages, so Jeffers often appears alongside Jefferds and Jefferson in historical indexes.
From the historical record
“JASON. (Greek.) Healing. JEFFERS or JEFFREY. Corrupted from Geoffrey or God- frey, German, from God and fried, God's peace, or from Gau and fried, joyful peace. This name was borne by the chief of the royal house of Plantagenet. OF FAMILY NAMES. 169 JEMSE. Local. A town in Sweden. JENKINS. From Jenks or John, and…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names