Jef
Jef is a name with a single cultural origin: Dutch.
- Dutch
Meaning & Origin of Jef
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Jef is a name with a single cultural origin: Dutch.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Dutch
The Story of Jef
The earliest SSA record of Jef as a baby boy name dates back to 1953, when 5 babies received it. 1963 was its biggest year on record, with 15 newborns named Jef — #2,115 in the national rankings. About 55% of every Jef on record arrived during the 1960s, its defining decade. Jef last appeared in the published SSA data in 1973, with 6 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 129 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Jef
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Jef. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Jef
Phonetically similar names — useful when Jef is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Jef
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How popular is Jef in 2026?
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About the name Jef
Jef is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1953 and has accumulated 129 births in the dataset. Jef's peak popularity came in 1963 when it ranked #2,115. Use the chart and map above to compare Jef's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1963 →
- Names of the 1960s →
- Names starting with "J" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.