Given name
Geoff
“a man of peace”
In English use, Geoff is a diminutive of Geoffrey. In English use, Geoffrey carries the interpretation “a man of peace.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Geoff is a diminutive of Geoffrey. In English use, Geoffrey carries the interpretation “a man of peace.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Geoff is a diminutive of Geoffrey. Geoffrey comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Proto-Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
In English use, Geoff is used as a shortened form of Geoffrey.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1940. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Geoff through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,549
- 1,549 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 65 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2016. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 65 in 1962. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,986 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Geoff’s family of names
In English usage, Geoff is a diminutive of Jeffrey. Geoff has a related form in Geoffrey. In English usage, Geoff is a diminutive of Geoffrey.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Geoff
- Geoff HurstEnglish footballer (born 1941)
- Geoff PiersonAmerican actorborn 1949
- Geoff CameronAmerican soccer playerborn 1985
- Geoff EmerickBritish recording engineer (1945-2018)
- Geoff DownesEnglish keyboardistborn 1952
- Geoff JohnsAmerican comic book writerborn 1973
- Geoff LeesBritish racing driverborn 1951
- Geoff BentEnglish footballer (1932-1958)
- Geoff NichollsBritish guitarist and keyboardist (1948–2017)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Geoff, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Greg
“watchful” · “one who is vigilant; watch-”
>99% boys
Gil
“resembling a young goal” · “the joy of the people”
>99% boys
Garry
“one who wields a spear” · “a rough but peaceful man”
>99% boys
Ernie
“one who is sincere and determined; serious”
>99% boys
Cornell
“refers to a horn”
>99% boys
Gerard
“one who is mighty with a spear”
>99% boys
Glenn
“from the valley between the hills” · “from the secluded narrow valley”
>99% boys
Alphonso
“prepared for battle; eager and ready”
>99% boys