Jeff ranks 2011 in the pet registry with 49 male animals. It's a completely conventional American human given name — short form of Jeffrey, which descends from the Old French Geoffroi — and its appearance on pets is a deliberate anti-naming move: choosing the most ordinary, non-pet-name name possible, with full awareness of what you're doing.
The Anti-Name Naming Strategy
Jeff belongs to a specific category of pet names, along with Gary, Kevin, Steve, and Dave, that owners choose precisely because they are aggressively human and non-dramatic. The comedy is the gap between the name's total ordinariness and the reality of being an animal. A large, serious dog named Jeff is funnier than one named Thor. A tiny fluffy dog named Jeff is funnier still. Any breed works because the humor is breed-agnostic.
The Pop-Culture Comedy Layer
Jeff as a pet name has benefited from internet meme culture's affection for giving animals deeply mundane human names. The pattern, "This is Jeff. He's a dog," generates consistent online engagement. That cultural context makes Jeff a knowing choice for owners with social media presence or simply a dry sense of humor. Compare with Gary and Kevin for the same register.
The Counter-Reading: You Will Be Asked Why
Jeff as a human name has decades of strong SSA presence. On a pet, the name generates a reliable conversational question: "Why Jeff?" Owners who enjoy that question have chosen correctly. Owners who want a name that explains itself will find Jeff requires more maintenance than its simplicity implies. Browse human-ordinary pet names for the category.