Show ContentsJeffus History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Jeffus 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 The surname Jeffus makes use of the patronymic suffix -son, which had superseded all other such suffixes in popularity by the 14th century, and was most common in the north of Britain.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.

Early Origins of the Jeffus family

The surname Jeffus was first found in Staffordshire where Robert Geffreysone was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1344. In Yorkshire, we found Alice Geffrason there in 1488 and John Jeffrason was listed as a Freeman of York in 1528. [1]

Early History of the Jeffus family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Jeffus research. Another 118 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1691, 1720, 1797 and 1821 are included under the topic Early Jeffus History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Jeffus Spelling Variations

The Welsh have an extremely large amount of spelling variations of their native surnames to their credit. It was up to the priest or the scribe taking the official records to determine how the spoken name was to be made literal. As time progressed, the old Brythonic names of Wales were recorded in English, which was especially problematic since the English language had extreme difficulty recording the highly inflected sounds of Cymraeg. Spelling variations were, however, also carried out according to an individual's design: a branch loyalty within the family, a religious adherence, or even patriotic affiliations could be indicated by spelling variations of one's name. The spelling variations of the name Jeffus have included Jeffers, Jefferson, Jeffson, Jephson and others.

Early Notables of the Jeffus family

More information is included under the topic Early Jeffus Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Jeffus family to Ireland

Some of the Jeffus family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 53 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Jeffus family

During the latter half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, the people of Wales journeyed to North America to find a new life. They made major contributions to the arts, industry and commerce of both Canada and the United States, and added a rich cultural heritage to their newly adopted societies. A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Jeffus: John Jefferson settled in Virginia in 1620; Mary Jefferson settled in Virginia in 1653; Edmund Jefferson settled in Pennsylvania in 1682; Robert Jefferson settled in Nova Scotia in 1774.


Contemporary Notables of the name Jeffus (post 1700) +

  • Margaret M. Jeffus, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 2000 [2]
  • Larry Jeffus, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Texas, 2008 [2]


The Jeffus Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: A cruce salus
Motto Translation: Salvation from the cross.


  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 8) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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