Source: etymonline.com
Jef
That’s it.
Otherwise known as Jeff.
Why is it Geoff you ask?
Well, in Medieval Latin there was a name Gaufridus.
It came from Old High German meaning “district of peace” (gewi + fridu).
Aside: The name Frederick also comes from the Old High German fridu + reich meaning peace rule. So my name and Frederick share a common root.
Anyway, the Latin Gaufridus became the Old French name Geuffroi.
The English name Geoffrey is first attested in the 11th century and comes from the French.
The Old French name was later sometime spelled Jeufroi or Jefroi instead.
And this was imported to English as Jeffrey.
So Jeffrey and Geoffrey really are the same name, with a common history.
But mine is more right 😉
And I like to imagine that if I lived in the time of the Roman Republic I would have been Gaufridus the Peaceful…
And my bust would be in some old building somewhere.