Times have been tough lately — and when I say “lately,” I mean roughly the past 35 years — for me and my fellow Jeffreys of the world.
From the early 1990s infamy of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer to the deplorable actions of Jeffrey Epstein, my first name has been dragged through enough mud to induce cringes from most people upon its mere mention.
Now, as we enter the second month of 2026, a year in which the story of the still-not-fully-released Epstein files refuses to go away, thousands of men like me continue to be faced with an existential choice every time we introduce ourselves: Jeffrey or Jeff?
Or, put another way: To –rey, or not to –rey? That is the question.
My journey from Jeff to Jeffrey
Those who know me know that I go by Jeff in my day-to-day life. As a college journalist at Rutgers University, I used the shortened name as my byline for The Daily Targum, the student newspaper.
After I graduated, “Jeff” started to feel too informal as a way to present myself in the working world. So from that point forward, on résumés and job applications, on magazine mastheads and business cards, I’ve steadfastly stood behind “Jeffrey.”
As someone currently in the middle of a job search, however, I have started to wonder whether being so Jeffrey-forward could, in fact, be setting me back.
I asked Joel Lalgee, a recruiter and headhunter who runs RealGTMTalent, if he or any of his clients had ever judged a book by its cover, as it were, and formed a negative first impression of a candidate based on the name at the top of the résumé.
It’s not something he has encountered, he said, adding, “If someone is making a judgment like that, why would you want to work for that person? That, to me, is a huge red flag.”
Still, this is no small matter, as the name you put forth can have a huge impact on your career trajectory. An analysis of all LinkedIn users once found that the most common names of male CEOs were shortened nicknames like Bob, Fred, or Bill — likely used to seem more friendly or open — while women in leadership tended to use their full names, perhaps to be taken more seriously.
Which is exactly what I was after, as it happens. And I am hardly alone in struggling with “name shame” — women named Karen, not to mention anyone named Adolf who lived through postwar Germany, could surely relate to this dilemma.
It’s only grown for us Jeffreys in recent years, as a new deluge of unwanted notoriety has befallen our name.
These days, it’s not easy being Jeffrey
The initial flurry of negative coverage when Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for sex trafficking of minors in 2019 seemed, at the time, as if it would be the nadir for Jeffreys. However, even that chapter pales in comparison to the fever pitch of Epstein news that has engulfed Washington over the past year.
And yet, the trend lines on “Jeffrey” were apparent even earlier.
Take Jeffrey Jones, who, after a run as a beloved comedic actor in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “Beetlejuice,” was arrested in 2002 on charges of possessing child-sexual-abuse images and soliciting a minor. Prosecutors dropped the first charge, and he pleaded no contest to the latter. He was required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
Or Jeffrey Tambor, who, after his run as a beloved comedic actor on “The Larry Sanders Show” and “Arrested Development,” was accused of sexual misconduct on the set of “Transparent” in 2017. Though the actor denies the allegations, they led to the end of his Emmy-winning role.
But “Jeff”? Cool, breezy “Jeff”? There are countless examples of those who have eschewed the “-rey” in their professional lives and been better off for it.
In Hollywood, you’ll find Goldblum, Bridges, and Daniels — not a law firm but rather a trio of proud Jeffs who have enjoyed long careers of universal acclaim.
The musical genius of Jeff Lynne, Jeff Tweedy, and the late, great Jeff Buckley and Jeff Beck is undeniable; add DJ Jazzy Jeff, and you’d have quite the supergroup.
Other successful Jeffs include Probst, Koons, Foxworthy — even a seemingly narcoleptic Wiggle.
Lastly, we must not forget Jeff Bezos, whom the comedian Bo Burnham memorably taunted in song in his landmark 2021 special “Inside” by referring to him as “Jeffrey” throughout, as if the name itself were tantamount to a schoolyard insult.
If you’re looking for positives on the “Jeffrey” side of the ledger, you’ll find the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jeffrey Eugenides, the Academy Award-nominated actor Jeffrey Wright, and the actor Jeffrey Dean Morgan — none of them a slouch, to be sure.
However, their combined talents would not be quite enough to outshine their nicknamed brethren or to overcome today’s maelstrom of negative attention.
So for those keeping score at home, it’s a rather lopsided victory for “Jeff.”
A name on the decline
What do all of these Jeffs and Jeffreys have in common?
They were all born over a roughly 20-year period, from the mid-1940s through the mid-1960s, when the name’s popularity was steadily climbing before reaching its peak as a top 10 name in the US in 1966, according to the Social Security Administration.
By the time I came along, some years later, it was already on the wane — my parents still liked it, though — and its decline in popularity has continued precipitously ever since, especially since the turn of the last century.
For the year 2024, the last for which full data is available, “Jeffrey” ranked 520th among boys’ names. (Adding in Geoffrey with a “G” doesn’t help matters; that spelling fell out of the top 1,000 names in 2006 and has not returned.)
As for 2026? Despite long-standing traditions of naming children after a living or deceased relative, it’s hard to imagine expectant parents this year choosing “Jeffrey” as their son’s name right now.
I predict it will be avoided for some time, especially as the potential release of more Epstein files and the Department of Justice’s report to Congress continues to loom.
With that in mind, I’m choosing to plant a flag and stand up for all Jeffrey-kind; there’s something that feels honorable about being among the last of a dying breed.
I’ll continue to use the name professionally, as I’d rather have the courage of my own convictions than worry about being coincidentally associated with someone else’s.
Notably, there is one other reason for my choice. If my name sounds vaguely familiar to you, you may be remembering another Jeff Bauman, who lost both of his legs in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing. (His story was later made into the movie “Stronger,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal.)
He and I are not related, but there is a kinship in the name nonetheless, and ceding “Jeff” to him, someone who has endured true hardship in his life, feels like quite literally the least I can do.
So I’ll stick with “Jeffrey” from here on out — I can surely take any slings and arrows that may come my way as a result.
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