Beuford
A masculine name of Old English origin meaning "beautiful ford".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Beuford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Beuford today is around 88 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Beuford births was 1920 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Beuford. 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 Beuford is about 88 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Beufords were born before 1948.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Beuford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1920
15 babies that year
Average age
88
years old
1950 SSA rank
#3,056
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Beuford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Beuford from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 96 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
Beuford 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 Beuford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Beuford
The given name Beuford is an English name that originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "beau," meaning fair or handsome, and "ford," referring to a shallow place where a river or stream can be crossed. The name can be interpreted to mean "handsome ford" or "fair crossing."
Beuford was a relatively common name among the Anglo-Saxon nobility and aristocracy during the medieval period. It gained popularity as a name for male children born into families with ties to rivers, streams, or bodies of water, as the "ford" element was seen as a symbol of strength and resilience.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Beuford can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a landowner named Beuford of Berkshire, who held a substantial estate near the River Thames.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Beuford de Montfort was a prominent knight and crusader who fought in the Third Crusade alongside King Richard I. He is mentioned in several historical accounts of the time, including the chronicles of Roger of Hoveden and William of Newburgh.
During the 14th century, a Franciscan friar named Beuford of Bury St Edmunds gained recognition for his work as a philosopher and theologian. He authored several treatises on scholastic philosophy and was known for his debates with other scholars of the time.
In the 16th century, Beuford Hawkins was an English navigator and maritime explorer who participated in several voyages to the West Indies and the Americas. He is noted for his involvement in the early colonization efforts of the British Empire and his encounters with indigenous populations.
Another historical figure bearing the name Beuford was Beuford Cheshire, a prominent English lawyer and judge who lived in the 17th century. He served as a Justice of the King's Bench and is remembered for his contributions to the development of English common law.
Throughout the centuries, the name Beuford has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including noblemen, scholars, explorers, and legal professionals. While not as widely used today, it remains a unique and historically significant name with roots in the rich cultural heritage of medieval England.
People
Beuford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Beuford 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
Beuford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Beuford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Beuford 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Beuford a common name?
We classify Beuford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 219 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Beuford most popular?
The single biggest year for Beuford was 1920, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Beuford is about 88 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Beuford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Beuford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Beuford 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 Beuford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Beuford 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 Beuford 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Beuford?
Want to know how many Americans are named Beuford? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.