Elford
From an Old English name meaning "elf ford" or "old river crossing".
Name Census estimates that about 14 living Americans carry the first name Elford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Elford today is around 84 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Elford births was 1919 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Elford. 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 Elford is about 84 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Elfords were born before 1952.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Elford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
14
~ 1 in 24,482,453 Americans
Peak year
1919
9 babies that year
Average age
84
years old
1960 SSA rank
#4,195
Tracked since 1907
Popularity
Elford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Elford from the 1900s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 43 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
Elford 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 Elford 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 Elford
The given name Elford is of English origin, derived from a combination of the Old English elements "elf" meaning "elf" or "supernatural being" and "ford" meaning "a shallow place for crossing a river or stream." This name likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries.
Elford was initially a locational surname, referring to someone who lived near an elf-ford, or a ford believed to be inhabited by elves or other mythical creatures. As a first name, it came into use much later, likely during the late medieval or early modern period.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Elford was Sir William Elford (1490-1566), an English soldier and landowner from Devon. He served as a member of parliament and was knighted by King Henry VIII in 1544.
In the 17th century, Elford Denne (1636-1705) was an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works, including "The Doctrine of the Resurrection of the Same Body Asserted and Proved."
Another notable Elford was Sir Elford Woodhead (1818-1903), a British businessman and philanthropist. He made his fortune in the textile industry and used his wealth to support various charitable causes, including the founding of the Woodhead Memorial Hospital in Huddersfield.
In the 20th century, Elford Albin Cox (1905-1983) was an American businessman and philanthropist from California. He founded the E.A. Cox Corporation, a successful construction company, and donated generously to various educational and cultural institutions.
Elford Crenston Roberts (1904-1998) was a Welsh-born American physicist and academic. He made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and served as the president of the American Physical Society in 1966.
While not an exceptionally common name, Elford has a rich history dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England. Its unique blend of Old English elements and associations with mythical creatures and folklore have made it a distinctive and intriguing choice for a first name over the centuries.
People
Elford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Elford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Elford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Elford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 14 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Elford 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 24,482,453 US residents.
Is Elford a common name?
We classify Elford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 34% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 104 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Elford most popular?
The single biggest year for Elford was 1919, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Elford is about 84 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 Elford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Elford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Elford 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 Elford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Elford 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 Elford 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 people are named Elford?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.