"J" is for Jiffy Jeff

Note: For those brave souls that choose to endure through this post, my apologies...

Jiffy Jeff…not a moniker I would choose to give myself. It was one given to me by my wonderful , great aunt Nell Jeffords. Not sure why, although I do remember it being spoken by her in loving fashion. She has long since ‘crossed the veil’, but the memory of her and this nifty name she had for me is imprinted forever in my mind.

Jeffords is my middle name, so ascribed to me as a ‘tribute’ of sorts to my great uncle, Warren Jeffords (Nell’s husband). My first name is George, as was the case for a number of Campbells in succession, and as is the case for my son, Ben. My dad was called George, as was his dad, so to avoid confusion Jeff seemed an appropriate, familiar name for me.

Jeff comes from the longer name Jeffrey (Germanic). It means “God’s Peace”, and thusly the meaning of the name Jeff is often given as “God’s Peace”. Would it not be grand and heart warming if Jeffords had the same meaning? As fate would have it, that is not the case.

Jeffords is of English origin, although it may have roots in an earlier time in France. Its theoretical English origin would be from the ancient Norman culture established in England after the conquest of 1066. It was a name often given to a chubby-cheeked or round-faced person (God’s Peace…oh why could it not have been Jeffrey? Although chubby-cheeked could bring up imagery of a happy person). As for the possible French origin…quite possibly from the word “giffard”, a pejorative of the word “giffel”, meaning “jaw”.

The name was spelled a number of different ways…Gifford, Giffard, Gyfford, Gifferd, Givard, etc. You may be wondering as I have , how the “G” became a “J”. I am not certain, although name spelling changes were commonplace with early immigrants to the New World.

Historical records indicate that some of the first immigrants to North America bore the name Jeffords, or a variant thereof. I have traced my Jeffords ancestors to early 1700s New England.

I like to provide appropriate photographs with my Alphabe-Thursday post, although I am hesitant to offer myself up in photo exhibitry. I also like to post photos that I have taken. If I were to post about my name, then by assumption I would post photos of me…the Real Deal…and most likely these photos would not have been taken by me. Alas, most are not, although the last and most recent photo of the “chubby-cheeked, round-faced” character I did indeed take. Photo credits for the majority of pictures go to my dad, MrsC, and my friend Rick.

Jeff Haiku...

Jiffy Jeff eats jam

While Auntie Nell cooks her ham

Memories run deep

Namaste