Beauford
From the French words "beau" meaning beautiful and "fort" meaning strong.
Name Census estimates that about 294 living Americans carry the first name Beauford. It is a predominantly male name (99.0% of registrations). The average person named Beauford today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beauford births was 1920 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beauford. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Beauford is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beaufords were born before 1963.
People living today
294
~ 1 in 1,165,831 Americans
Peak year
1920
38 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
2020 SSA rank
#5,187
Tracked since 1905
Census
Beauford in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 314 people with the first name Beauford, which placed it at #28,548 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#28,548
National first-name rank
People counted
314
314 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Beauford
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beauford is White at 62.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Beauford described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Beauford at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.7% · 197
- Black or African American32.2% · 101
- Two or more races4.1% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Beauford
Out of the 1,026 babies given the name Beauford since 1880, 99.0% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Beauford as a male name
- Ranked #10,759 in 2020
- 6 male births in 2020
- Peak: 1934 (34 births)
Beauford as a female name
- Ranked #5,187 in 1921
- 5 female births in 1921
- Peak: 1920 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Beauford appears almost entirely male. Of the 312 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Beauford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beauford from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 295 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Beauford by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Beauford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Beaufords live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina recorded the most babies named Beauford, while Oklahoma, Georgia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beauford
The given name Beauford has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the combination of the words "beau" meaning "beautiful" and "fort" meaning "strong" or "fortified." This name emerged during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and regions influenced by French culture.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Beauford can be found in medieval French literature and records. It was commonly used as a surname or place name before gaining popularity as a given name. The name likely reflected a person's admiration for physical strength and attractiveness, qualities that were highly valued during that time period.
The first recorded use of Beauford as a given name dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in various French chronicles and documents. One notable individual with this name was Beauford de Villiers, a French knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War against England in the 15th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Beauford. One such individual was Beauford T. Anderson (1853-1924), an American politician who served as the 17th Governor of Texas from 1899 to 1901. Another was Beauford H. Jester (1893-1949), who served as the 36th Governor of Texas from 1947 to 1949.
In the realm of literature, Beauford Delaney (1901-1979) was an influential African American painter and writer associated with the Harlem Renaissance. His works captured the vibrancy and spirit of African American culture during that era.
In the field of sports, Beauford "Buck" Buchanan (1940-1992) was an American professional football player who excelled as a defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992.
Beauford "Beau" Stephenson (1914-1998) was an American actor and stuntman who appeared in numerous Western films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century, often portraying rugged characters.
These examples demonstrate the diverse backgrounds and achievements of individuals who have carried the name Beauford, reflecting its enduring presence across various historical periods and cultural contexts.
People
Beauford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beauford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with B
Other first names starting with B with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Beauford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beauford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 294 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beauford going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,165,831 US residents.
Is Beauford a common name?
We classify Beauford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,026 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beauford most popular?
The single biggest year for Beauford was 1920, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beauford is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Beauford in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 314 people with the name Beauford, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,548 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Beauford in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Beauford?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Beauford appears almost entirely male. Of the 312 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Beauford?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Beauford is White at 62.7%. The next largest groups are Black (32.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Beauford most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Beauford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.7% (197 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Beauford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beauford a male name?
Yes, 99.0% of people registered as Beauford in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Beauford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beauford in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Beauford can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Beauford?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.