MEANING & HISTORY
What does Jefferson mean?
Jefferson is formed from Jeffrey with the patronymic ending -son. The immediate meaning is therefore son of Jeffrey, rather than a direct translation of every debated component behind Geoffrey.
The English dictionary also describes places named for Thomas Jefferson, and Tagalog records borrowing the personal name from English. Place-name commemorations do not prove the intention behind each given name. Jefferson can stand independently today; its patronymic origin does not require the bearer’s father to be called Jeffrey.
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ˈd͡ʒefeɾson/Standard-Tagalog
- [ˌd͡ʒɛː.fɛɾˈson̪]Standard-Tagalog
- /ˈd͡ʒepeɾson/with nativization
- [ˌd͡ʒɛː.pɛɾˈson̪]with nativization
- /ˈdjepeɾson/with nativization
- [ˌd̪jɛː.pɛɾˈson̪]with nativization
Je · ffer · son3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /ˈʝefeɾson/
- [ˈɟ͡ʝe.feɾ.sõn]
- /ˈʃefeɾson/
- [ˈʃe.feɾ.sõn]
- /ˈʒefeɾson/
- [ˈʒe.feɾ.sõn]
Jef · fer · son3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from English Jefferson.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Jefferson (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Jeffrey + -son. The placenames in the United States are named for Thomas Jefferson.
A male given name transferred from the surname.
Wiktionary: Jefferson (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Unadapted borrowing from English Jefferson.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Jefferson (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Jefferson
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Jefferson Utanes
actor
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
2
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Jefferson Utanes, Paul Jefferson Vivas
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Jefferson in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Related forms & spellings
Related forms may have their own language histories. They are not included in this spelling’s PSA count.
Similar names to Jefferson
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Emerson·Son of Emery; originally a surname
- Emmerson♂Son of Emery
- Anderson·Son of Andrew
- Gerson·Form in the Gersom/Gershom biblical name family
- Jeffrey♂English form of the medieval name Geoffrey
- Benson·Surname name: Benedict patronymic or place-name route
- Edison♂Surname meaning son of Eda or Adam
- Jackson♂Son of Jack
What rhymes with Jefferson?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Recorded combinations with Jefferson
1 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
Explore combinations →Explore Jefferson further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q14647368 — Jefferson (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Jefferson Utanes (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q14647368 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Paul Jefferson Vivas (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q14647368 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jefferson (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jefferson (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Jefferson (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — jeffrey (opens in a new tab)
Consulted editorial entry, not user submissions: Jeffrey is a medieval Geoffrey variant; do not assign one remote root automatically.