Ledford
From an Old English surname meaning "leader of people on a ford".
Name Census estimates that about 53 living Americans carry the first name Ledford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Ledford today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ledford births was 1916 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ledford. 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 Ledford is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Ledfords were born before 1955.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Ledford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
53
~ 1 in 6,467,063 Americans
Peak year
1916
12 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1966 SSA rank
#4,283
Tracked since 1914
Census
Ledford in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 118 people with the first name Ledford, which placed it at #50,661 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
#50,661
National first-name rank
People counted
118
118 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ledford
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ledford is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Ledford 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 Ledford at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.1% · 98
- Black or African American11.0% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Ledford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ledford from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 75 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
Ledford 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 Ledford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ledfords live
Origin
Meaning and history of Ledford
The name Ledford has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the words "lead" and "ford," indicating a person who resided near a lead crossing or ford. The name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, spanning from the 5th to the 11th century.
Historically, the name was predominantly found in regions of England where lead mining was prevalent, such as Derbyshire, Yorkshire, and parts of Wales. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in medieval documents and parish records from these areas.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Ledford was Sir William Ledford, a knight who lived during the reign of King Edward III in the 14th century. He was renowned for his bravery in battle and his contributions to the English victories during the Hundred Years' War against France.
Another notable bearer of the name was John Ledford, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London during the 16th century. He was instrumental in establishing trade routes and fostering economic growth in the city.
In the 17th century, Thomas Ledford was a respected scholar and theologian who authored several influential works on religious philosophy. His writings were widely studied and debated in academic circles of the time.
During the Industrial Revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Ledford became associated with the mining and metallurgical industries. One such figure was Robert Ledford, a pioneering engineer who developed innovative techniques for lead extraction and smelting processes.
In the realm of literature, the name Ledford gained recognition through the works of the 19th-century novelist and poet, Emily Ledford. Her poignant works exploring themes of love, loss, and nature were highly acclaimed during the Victorian era.
Throughout its history, the name Ledford has maintained a strong connection to its roots, reflecting the enduring influence of Old English language and culture. While its usage may have evolved over time, the name continues to carry a sense of historical significance and cultural heritage.
People
Ledford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ledford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ledford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ledford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 53 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ledford 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 6,467,063 US residents.
Is Ledford a common name?
We classify Ledford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 55.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 248 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ledford most popular?
The single biggest year for Ledford was 1916, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ledford is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Ledford in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 118 people with the name Ledford, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #50,661 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 Ledford 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 Ledford?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Ledford leans strongly male. 115 people counted with this name were male (98.3%), compared with 2 female bearers (1.7%). 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 Ledford?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Ledford is White at 83.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (3.4%). 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 Ledford most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Ledford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.1% (98 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 Ledford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Ledford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Ledford 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 Ledford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Ledford 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 Ledford 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 common is the name Ledford?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.