Jeffrey Epstein needs no introduction. After years of media coverage and wild conspiracy theories, the late financier is practically synonymous with human trafficking and sexual abuse. He was a real-life boogeyman who spent years preying on underage girls while being shielded from prosecution by his immense wealth and powerful connections. This made him into an enduring symbol of moral rot among American elites, not to mention a lack of justice for victims of sexual violence.
Still, the Epstein saga might have gradually faded from the national consciousness, even in spite of the widespread, unfounded belief that his 2019 suicide in a jail cell while awaiting trial was in fact a murder carried out to prevent him from implicating associates in his crimes. But, because one of his longtime friends was Donald Trump — the two were close until a falling out sometime around the mid-2000s — Epstein’s ghost has continued to haunt the political landscape. It’s not just that things like a creepy birthday letter the president allegedly wrote to him have become a matter of public record (though Trump denies authoring the document); there’s also the administration’s embarrassing, ongoing failure to disclose more material related to federal investigations of Epstein after many assurances to the MAGA base that they would release these supposed bombshell files.
And so “Jeffrey Epstein” is a name that still commands headlines. It also happens to be a fairly common name, in use among a great many men who have done no wrong. One database search returned information on nearly 300 Jeffrey Epsteins around the U.S. Rolling Stone reached out to dozens of them in hopes of learning how the Epstein story has affected their day-to-day lives over the past few years. Perhaps understandably, only three replied to share their experiences.
The Singer
Jeff L. Epstein, 53, resides in an area of New Jersey outside Philadelphia and works full-time as a singer covering Frank Sinatra, the Beatles, Elvis Presley, and many others, in senior living centers, where he says residents are thankfully not too plugged into news developments involving the other Jeffrey Epstein. (He also says that only his older relatives call him Jeffrey.) When the topic does come up, he’s taken to feigning confusion, acting as if he doesn’t follow the news himself.
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“Every now and then some resident, like 80 years old, might say, ‘Will you ever release the tapes?’” Epstein says. “And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I don’t know what you’re talking about — what are you referring to?” This strategy, he says, tends to shut down the conversation quickly and effectively. It irks him that the case seems to be a joke to people who make these comments. “If you treat the subject seriously, there is never a reason to say that to me, ever,” he says.
This Epstein first learned of the infamous Epstein in the mid-2010s. With the latter’s arrest and suicide in 2019, he recalls, things turned “nightmarish,” particularly online. He shares a screenshot of a Facebook post he made that year in a local community group where he asked for recommendations of a cleaning service, only to be met by hostile and mocking comments addressing him as Epstein the criminal, as well as a photo of that Epstein. Elsewhere on social media, people have demanded to know why his username is “Jeff Epstein,” assuming it’s an intentional provocation. In some instances, he has tried to roll with the unfortunate coincidence, like when he occasionally made appearances on the YouTube show of comedian Graham Elwood, who would introduce him by saying, “No, not that one!” Epstein acknowledges that the bit “was pretty funny.”
More recently, though, Epstein says, he is trying to reclaim his name. At a weekly open mic with musician friends where he’s been a regular for two years, he says, he used to call himself “Jeff L.” to avoid any unwanted association with a notorious sex offender. Then he had a change of heart. “It just doesn’t feel right,” he says. “It’s just awkward. So maybe six months ago, I’m like, ‘I’m done. My name is Jeff Epstein.’” He told the open mic host to introduce him by his full name going forward. Initially, the host started telling audiences that he was “the good one, not the bad one,” Epstein says, but he soon put a stop to that, telling him that “the only reason” he still deals with a certain stigma is because “people keep saying that.”
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“It’ll never go away,” he reflects, in part because of the other Epstein’s many links to rich and powerful people, but also since “we’ll never know the total truth” of what went on in his social circles. “So people are going to make up whatever, and just keep it going,” Epstein says.
The Warehouse Manager
Asked whether the name has caused him much grief, another Jeff Epstein, a 45-year-old warehouse manager in New Jersey, says, “You have no idea!” His friends, at least, appear take a certain pleasure in the unfortunate coincidence. Epstein shares an email thread between him and a few pals about being approached for this interview — one person advises that he tell Rolling Stone “that you haven’t been laid in six years because of this, and make sure they put your picture and address in the article.”
“I went to my primary care doctor, whom I haven’t seen in years,” Epstein says. “He walks in and says, ‘Back in the news!’ I can’t make this shit up.” He admits that the remarks are pretty much inescapable. “I get comments all the time, especially when I need to show ID,” he says. Epstein knows how to take these interactions in stride, however. “I usually tell them they are uninvited to my yacht party if they tell me to change my name.”
The Flooring Company Owner
Then there’s Jeff Epstein, 57, who runs a flooring company in Tuscon, Arizona — and says that his name has thankfully never put a dent in his business. “My customers get a kick out of it,” he says. “When they don’t know my full name, and I call them, because of my iPhone, it says Jeffrey Epstein is calling. And so I’ve had customers block my phone immediately, then I have my office call and tell them, ‘No, no, that’s Jeff.’”
“It comes in waves,” Epstein says of conversations about being a Jeffrey Epstein. “Sometimes I don’t get anything for months at a time, and then some weeks, I’ll have three or four people mention it,” with some asking if it’s his real name. He adds, “It can be annoying, but it has never been negative, other than the inconvenience. It’s just never-ending. It’s funny, if the news is on when I walk in, I’ll hear my name three or four times in two minutes. There’s always something that reminds me every day that I share a name with this guy.”
Epstein says the unusual situation has affected the rest of his family, too. While his company doesn’t make use of his surname, his brother has a business that does, which has led customers to make jokes. His brother tells them that he has a sibling named Jeffrey who has to put up with much more of this commentary.
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“I’m non-political, so that also helps,” Epstein says of his random connection to reviled criminal frequently invoked in partisan attacks. Even so, he has a clear personal interest in seeing the Epstein case come to some kind of resolution. “I did post ‘release the Epstein files,’ but that’s basically because I want my name back,” he says. “Yeah, let’s get it over with. Why are we not doing this?” He’s referring to the current administration’s attempts to move on from the matter, with Trump and the White House taking the bizarre, nonsensical line that lingering questions about the late Epstein’s activities constitute some kind of “hoax” from Democrats. “You mean my name was ruined because of… nothing?”
“Would definitely love to have no one talking about my name anymore,” he continues. Although they’ve each found ways to deal with the headache, these Jeffrey Epsteins agree that it’s a tired subject. At this point, they’ve all heard the same lines thousands of times. “It’s run its course, but just won’t go away,” Epstein says. If you ever meet a Jeffrey Epstein, then, do him a solid: pretend you’ve never heard the name in your life.
