Shuford
Derived from an English surname, a variant spelling of "shepherd".
Name Census estimates that about 2 living Americans carry the first name Shuford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Shuford today is around 85 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Shuford births was 1922 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Shuford. 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 Shuford is about 85 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Shufords were born before 1951.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Shuford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
2
~ 1 in 171,377,169 Americans
Peak year
1922
11 babies that year
Average age
85
years old
1935 SSA rank
#4,080
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Shuford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Shuford from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 29 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
Shuford 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 Shuford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Shufords live
Origin
Meaning and history of Shuford
Shuford is an English given name with origins dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English words "sceaf" meaning sheaf or bundle, and "ford" meaning a shallow crossing of a river or stream.
The name was likely used to refer to someone who lived near a ford where sheaves of wheat or other crops were transported across. It may have been an occupational surname that later became a first name. Similar spellings from the era include Shefford, Sheforde, and Shafforde.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Shuford dates back to the 13th century in the Huntingdonshire Hundred Rolls of 1273, which mentions a Thomas de Shefford. In the 14th century, the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield, Yorkshire, referring to a John de Shefford in 1317.
In the 15th century, a Shuford is mentioned in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondences between members of the Paston family in Norfolk, England. The letters, written between 1422 and 1509, reference a John Shuford who was involved in legal matters related to the family's estates.
A notable figure in history with the name Shuford was Sir John Shuford (1510-1583), an English politician and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the 16th century. He served under both King Henry VIII and Queen Elizabeth I.
Another significant individual was Thomas Shuford (1670-1744), an English Quaker minister and activist who helped establish the first Quaker meeting house in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was an influential figure in the early history of the Religious Society of Friends in America.
In the 18th century, there was Josiah Shuford (1720-1798), a colonial American soldier who fought in the French and Indian War and later served as a captain in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War.
Jumping to the 19th century, Shuford Cain (1825-1892) was an American farmer and politician from North Carolina who served as a member of the state's General Assembly and was involved in the formation of the Populist Party.
People
Shuford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Shuford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Shuford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Shuford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Shuford 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 171,377,169 US residents.
Is Shuford a common name?
We classify Shuford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 39 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Shuford most popular?
The single biggest year for Shuford was 1922, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Shuford is about 85 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 Shuford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Shuford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Shuford 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 Shuford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Shuford 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 Shuford 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 common is the name Shuford?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Shuford on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.