Jefferson

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Jeffersón in SV El Salvador, PE Peru, GT Guatemala and Jëffërsön in EC Ecuador, CO Colombia.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 4 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Jefferson is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name892K records spelled Jefferson20 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Anguilla, United Kingdom, Russia

  Languages: English, Dutch

  Also written Jëffërsön, Jêffêrsôn, Jëffërśön, J̶e̶f̶f̶e̶r̶s̶o̶n̶, Jëffēršön

• a separate name21K records spelled Jefferson2 spellings in the group

  Also written Jéfferson

• French name18K records spelled Jefferson7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Gabon

  Also written Jēffersón, Jéfferson, Jeffersön, Jeffersoñ, Jèffêrsòñ

• a separate name6.7K records spelled Jefferson3 spellings in the group

  Also written Jëffëřšöň

• a separate name3.2K records spelled Jefferson3 spellings in the group

  Also written Jêffêrsôn

73 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Jefferson is also recorded in 4 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Transferred use of the surname, originally a patronymic meaning ‘son of Jeffrey’. The given name is still sometimes so used. In the United States it has often been bestowed in honour of the statesman Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), principal author of the Declaration of Independence, who became the third president of the Union. He is also remembered as a scientist, architect, and writer.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, An English surname originating as a patronymic; (US politics) used specifically of Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), the third president of the United States, principal author of the US Declaration of Independence (1776), and one of the most influential founders of the United States.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, Son of Jeffrey.

  as a name·Encyclopedia of surnames [the complete companion to tracing your names history]

• In English, Thomas. 3rd US president; US pi.

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Thomas Jeffersonb. 1743USFounding Father, U.S. president from 1801 to 1809 (1743–1826)
• Jefferson Davisb. 1808USPresident of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865 (1808–1889)
• Stan Laurelb. 1890GBnot in their usual nameEnglish actor (1890–1965)
• Blind Lemon Jeffersonb. 1893USAmerican blues singer and guitarist (1893–1929)
• Bill Clintonb. 1946USnot in their usual namePresident of the United States from 1993 to 2001 (born 1946)
• Jeff Sessionsb. 1946USnot in their usual nameAmerican politician and lawyer (born 1946)
• Marshall Jeffersonb. 1959USAmerican DJ and record producer
• William Hagueb. 1961GBnot in their usual nameBritish politician (born 1961)
• Reeve Carneyb. 1983USnot in their usual nameAmerican singer-songwriter and actor
• Jeffersonb. 1983BRBrazilian association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 636 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Jefferson?

We estimate roughly 161 thousand people bear Jefferson (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Jefferson have the most bearers?

We estimate about 83 thousand people bear Jefferson in Brazil, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled jefferson.

Where is Jefferson most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Jefferson is densest in Ecuador — about 1 in 317 people — even though Brazil holds more of our records for it.

What does the name Jefferson mean?

Recorded meaning: from Geoffrey; first attested Robert Geffreysone 1344 AssSt