Jeffery Family Crest and Name History

Text Size

Jeffery PDF Surname History


The Ancient History Of The Distinguished Surname Jeffery

Jeffery

Contents

Jeffery history with Jeffery Family Crest
Suggested Readings for Jeffery
Surname Notables

About Family Crests

Jeffery Products

Origin Displayed: Welsh

Where did the Welsh Jeffery family come from? What is the Welsh coat of arms/family crest? When did the Jeffery family first arrive in the United States? Where did the various branches of the family go? What is the history of the family name?

The Jeffery surname is a patronymic name that comes from the personal names Geoffrey and Godfrey. These names appear in Old English as Geffrey and in Old French as Jefroi or Jeufroi. The surname Jeffery makes use of the patronymic suffix -son, which had superseded all other such suffixes in popularity by the 14th century, and was most common in the north of Britain. This suffix was sometimes abbreviated to -s.

Welsh surnames are relatively few in number, but they have an inordinately large number of spelling variations. There are many factors that explain the preponderance of Welsh variants, but the earliest is found during the Middle Ages when Welsh surnames came into use. At this time, there were no uniform spelling rules and because the general population was illiterate, they could not specify a particular rendition of their names. Therefore, scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, which often resulted in a single person's name being inconsistently recorded over his lifetime. The transliteration of Welsh names into English also accounts for many of the spelling variations: the unique Brythonic Celtic language of the Welsh had many sounds the English language was incapable of accurately reproducing. It was also common for members of a same surname to change their names slightly, in order to signify a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations. For all of these reasons, the many spelling variations of particular Welsh names are very important. The surname Jeffery has occasionally been spelled Jeffreys, Jeffereys, Jefferies, Jeffers, Jefferis, Jefferyes, Jefferys, Jeffries, Jeffry, Jeffs, Jefries and many more.

First found in Herefordshire, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

More

More about the Jeffery History...

Please remember that this page is only a small extract of our complete history that includes:

Ancient origin of the name (usually pre-1100)
Known spelling variations
Early movement of the family name during the Middle Ages
Noteworthy bearers from the 1500-1600s
First settlers to North America
Notable contemporary bearers of the name
A description and/or full color picture of the Coat of Arms, Crest, and Motto (where available)

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many people from Wales joined the general migration to North America in search of land, work, and freedom. These immigrants greatly contributed to the rapid development of the new nations of Canada and the United States. They also added a rich and lasting cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. Investigation of immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Jeffery: Mary Jeffs who settled in Virginia in 1726; Goodwife Jeffreys settled in Virginia in 1624 with her husband; Andrew Jefferies settled in Virginia in 1634.

For more information on the last name Jeffery, the PDF Surname History is available for purchase as well as other products.

Suggested Readings for the name Jeffery

A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of James Jeffery by Dale Hanks.

Some noteworthy people of the name Jeffery

George Jeffery, Australian Bureaucrat
Aaron C. Jeffery (b. 1970), a Logie Award winning New Zealand-Australian actor
Arthur Jeffery (1892-1959), a former Protestant Australian professor of Semitic languages
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery (b. 1937), the 24th Governor-General of Australia
Simon Jeffery, the current president of Sega of America
Thomas B. Jeffery (1845-1910), English inventor

Tell Me More About Family Crests

Family Crests: the Heraldic Artist

We have researched the Jeffery family crest in the most recognized sources. Before an artist or craftsman can render a family crest, it must exist. In other words the crest must have been designed and recorded by the heralds from time immemorial.

Heraldic designs matriculated by the lay-artist in many cases becomes uninspired, meretricious and even ugly...

More

Family Crests: Timeline

Many of the symbols adopted into armory have been used since the time of the ancient Egyptians, but heraldry itself did not begin until the 11th century. In continental Europe, the most ancient recorded family crest was discovered upon the monumental effigy of a Count of Wasserburg in the church of St. Emeran, at Ratisobon, Germany...

More

Family Crests: Elements

In the Jeffery coat of arms as in all coat of arms the crest is only one element of the full armorial achievement. Again the Family Crest is just part of the story of Coats of Arms or Heraldry. Heraldry is defined as the hereditary art or science of blazoning, the description is appropriate technical terms of Coats-of-Arms and other heraldic and armorial insignia, and is of very ancient origin...

More

Family Crests and Genealogy: how they relate

We encourage you to study the Jeffery genealogy to find out if you descend from someone who bore a particular family crest. Anyone making a study of heraldry usually becomes interested in Genealogy or seeking legal claim to a particular family crest. No families, not even the royal houses, can make sound claim to the right to bear arms unless a proven connection is established through attested Genealogical records...

More

Jeffery Family Crest Products

Anniversary

Anniversary products for the name Jeffery.

Apparel

Apparel displaying the Jeffery family crest.

Armorial histories

Armorial histories for the name Jeffery.

Ceramics

Ceramics with a Jeffery family crest.

Coat of Arms

Coat of Arms for the name Jeffery.

Downloads

Downloads revealing the family crest for the surname Jeffery.

Family Crest

Family Crest for the name Jeffery.

Family Tree

Family Tree displaying the family crest for the name Jeffery.

Hand Painted Plaques

Hand Painted Plaques emphasing the Jeffery family crest.

Keychains

Keychains revealing the family crest for the surname Jeffery.

Mouse pads

Mouse pads with the family crest for the name Jeffery.

New Products

New Products displaying the Jeffery family crest.

Packages

Packages with the coat of arms for the name Jeffery.

Plaques and Frames

Plaques and Frames with the family crest for the name Jeffery.

Surname Histories

Surname Histories for the name Jeffery.

Symbolism

Symbolism with the coat of arms for the name Jeffery.

Travel Mugs

Travel Mugs with a Jeffery coat of arms.

Popular Products
	Armorial History With Coat of Arms
	Coat of Arms & Surname History Package
	Family Crest Image (jpg) Heritage Series - 300 DPI
	Key-chain
	Coffee Mug
	Armorial History with Frame
	Framed Surname History and Coat of Arms

The Jeffery Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Jeffery Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.