Jefferson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Jeffrey/Geoffrey,” ultimately from the old Germanic name Godfrey.
The #615 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 5,595 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Jefferson is an English patronymic surname formed from the personal name Jeffrey or Geoffrey, with the suffix -son meaning “son of.” The older name behind these forms goes back to the Germanic name Godfrey, recorded in medieval Latin as forms such as Goisfridus and related spellings. In plain terms, Jefferson originally meant “son of Geoffrey.”
History
Medieval and later English records show many spellings and related surnames built from the same personal name, including Jeffries, Jeffs, Jeffery, and Jepson. The surname is well established in England and later spread widely to North America and other English-speaking regions. Historical surname dictionaries sometimes treat Jefferson simply as a derivative of Jeffery/Geoffrey rather than as an independent name.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Thomas Jefferson helped make the surname one of the most famous in American history, even though the name itself is much older than the president.
From the historical record
“JEFFRIES. See Jeffery. JEFFERSON, See Jeffery. JEFFERY. JEFFERAY. The Teu- tonic personal name Godfridus, whence also Godfrey. In Domesday the ordinary form is Goisfridus. From it we get the modifi- cations and derivatives, Jefferson, Jcaf- freson, Jeffries, Jeff cries, Jefferiss, Jefl', Jeffs, JeiAson, Jepson…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Jefferson
- Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
- Stan Laurel (1890–1965)
- Lizzo (b. 1988)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.