Harford
A word derived from a place name in England of uncertain etymology.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Harford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harford today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harford births was 1919 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harford. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Harford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1919 SSA rank
#4,426
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Harford: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Harford 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 Harford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Harford
The given name Harford is of Old English origin, derived from the elements "hær" meaning army and "ford" meaning ford or river crossing. It likely emerged during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, which spanned from the 5th to the 11th centuries AD. The name may have originated as a descriptive surname referring to someone who lived near a ford used by an army.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harford can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landholdings and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Hereforda" and "Hereford," suggesting its connection to the county of Herefordshire and the city of Hereford, known for its strategic location on the River Wye.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Harford de Beverlaco was mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery at Beverley in Yorkshire. He was a prominent landowner and benefactor of the monastery during that time.
During the Middle Ages, the name Harford was associated with members of the English gentry and landed families. One such example is Sir Harford de Wykham, who lived in the 14th century and served as a knight and military commander under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, a scholar and theologian named Harford Browne (1519-1585) gained recognition for his work on the English translation of the Bible. He was a prominent figure in the Protestant Reformation and served as a chaplain to Edward VI and Elizabeth I.
Another notable individual with the name Harford was Harford Jones (1764-1847), a British diplomat and politician who served as the Ambassador to the United States from 1807 to 1811. He played a crucial role in negotiating the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the given name Harford, reflecting its longstanding presence and connections to various aspects of English society, from military and religious circles to scholarship and diplomacy.
People
Harford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harford 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
Harford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harford 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 - US residents.
Is Harford a common name?
We classify Harford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harford most popular?
The single biggest year for Harford was 1919, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harford is about 0 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 Harford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harford 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 Harford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harford 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 Harford 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 Harford?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.