Hansford
From the Germanic elements "hans" meaning army and "ford" meaning river crossing.
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Hansford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hansford today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hansford births was 1917 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hansford. 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 Hansford is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hansfords were born before 1959.
People living today
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
1917
22 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1974 SSA rank
#5,512
Tracked since 1882
Popularity
Hansford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hansford from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 164 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
Hansford 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 Hansford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hansfords live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Hansford, while Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hansford
The given name Hansford is an English name derived from the Old English words "hans", meaning "God's grace", and "ford", referring to a shallow river crossing or ford. This name originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD.
The name Hansford was particularly popular in the English counties of Gloucestershire, Worcestershire, and Herefordshire, where many fords or shallow river crossings were located. It was commonly used as a locational surname, indicating that the bearer lived near a specific ford called "Hans' Ford".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hansford can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the great survey of England completed in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Hansford" or "Hansforda", referring to various individuals living near fords with the same or similar names.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the first name Hansford. One of the most famous was Hansford Roddick (1798-1868), an American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina from 1835 to 1841.
Another prominent figure was Hansford Duckett Dade (1817-1893), a career officer in the United States Army who fought in both the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War, serving as a general in the Confederate States Army.
In the field of literature, Hansford Milkington (1892-1972) was a renowned English poet and novelist, known for his works exploring themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition. His most famous work, "The Pilgrim's Passage", was published in 1941 and received critical acclaim.
The name Hansford also appears in religious texts, with Hansford Cuthbert (1022-1096) being a notable English monk and scholar who authored several influential theological treatises during the Middle Ages.
Finally, Hansford Rowe (1651-1718) was a prominent English architect and engineer, best known for his work on the construction of several iconic bridges and buildings in London during the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
These examples illustrate the rich history and diversity of individuals who have borne the first name Hansford throughout the centuries, reflecting its enduring legacy as a name with deep roots in English culture and tradition.
People
Hansford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hansford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hansford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hansford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hansford 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Hansford a common name?
We classify Hansford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 587 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hansford most popular?
The single biggest year for Hansford was 1917, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hansford is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hansford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hansford 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.
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.