JEFFRIES

Jeffries is a surname of English provenance, traceable to the Old Germanic roots of personal names that entered the British Isles during the early medieval period. The name is a patronymic derivative of the given name Jeffrey or Geoffrey, which in turn was adopted from the Norman French Jeufroi, a Latinised form of Old Germanic personal names such as Gaufrid, Galfrid and Gisfrid.

The construction of these original Germanic names combines a first element with the suffix frithu, meaning “peace.” In Gaufrid the initial gau denotes a territory or district; in Galfrid the prefix gala refers to song, while in Gisfrid the root gis means pledge. Consequently, the generic sense of the name relates to a peaceful ruler or a good peace, a meaning that has been preserved in the later Anglicised surname Jeffries.

Recorded Latin forms of the personal names appear in early medieval documents: Gaufridus, Galfridus and Goisfridus. The same names are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, attesting to their presence in England shortly after the Norman Conquest. The Old French adaptations Jeufroi, Jefroi and Geuffroi eventually gave rise to the Middle English Geffrey and the modern surname.

Early on record, individuals bearing this surname appear in legal and ecclesiastical documents. For instance, Agnes Geffreys of Suffolk is mentioned in 1283, and Hugo Jafres of Staffordshire is documented in 1327. A further early example is Walter Geffrei, whose name appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Norfolk in 1203 during the reign of King John, known by the sobriquet Lackland (1199‑1216).

In the early modern era, the name continues to be noted. On 14 December 1608, Elizebeth Jeffries contracted matrimony with Edward Lewes in St Mary Aldermary, London. The migration of David Jeffries to New England in 1677 marks the first known settlement of the family in America, a movement that contributed to the dissemination of the surname across the Atlantic.

The heraldic identity associated with the Jeffries family is described as a black shield crowned with a gold lion rampant, flanked by three gold scaling ladders. The crest displays a castle with two gold towers, and the motto is written Fac recte et nil time, which may be translated into English as “Do right, and fear nothing.” This coat of arms has been compiled from verified heraldic sources and remains an authentic representation of the family’s symbolic heritage.

The earliest verified spelling of the surname that we are certain of, according to the Curia Regis Rolls, is that of Walter Geffrei in the year 1203. This records demonstrates the long continuity of the name within the English societal record, establishing a lineage that spans over eight centuries.

Typical given names associated with the Jeffries surname

Male

• Andrew
• David
• James
• John
• Mark
• Michael
• Paul
• Peter
• Richard
• Stephen

Female

• Elizabeth
• Emma
• Helen
• Julie
• Linda
• Margaret
• Michelle
• Nicola
• Sarah
• Susan
• Victoria

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Jeffries in...

Braille

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Morse

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Semaphore

Surname type: From name of parent

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Jeffries

• Lionel Jeffries - Actor, screenwriter and film director (1926 to 2010)
• Derek Jeffries - Football player
• Brian Jeffries - Cricketer
• Alex Jeffries - Welsh rugby union player
• Shirley Jeffries - Australian politician (1886 to 1963)

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

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