Waford
An Old English name derived from words meaning "watchful" and "ford".
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Waford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Waford today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Waford births was 1925 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Waford. 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 Waford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1925
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1925 SSA rank
#4,836
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Waford: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Waford 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 Waford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Waford
The name Waford has its origins in the ancient Germanic language, tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old High German words "wag" meaning "wave" and "ford" meaning "shallow place to cross a river." This suggests that the name's original meaning was likely related to a person who lived near a ford or crossing over a river with strong currents or waves.
Historically, the earliest recorded instances of the name Waford can be found in medieval German chronicles and records from the 8th to 10th centuries. During this period, it was a relatively common name among Germanic tribes and settlements across central Europe.
One notable historical reference to the name Waford comes from the Annals of Fulda, a medieval chronicle written by monks in the 9th century. The chronicle mentions a Frankish nobleman named Waford who participated in a military campaign against the Vikings in the year 882.
In the 11th century, a Benedictine monk known as Waford of Regensburg gained recognition for his scholarly writings and translations of religious texts. He lived from approximately 1020 to 1085 and was known for his contributions to the preservation of classical literature during the Middle Ages.
Another historically significant figure with the name Waford was a German knight and crusader who fought in the Third Crusade under the leadership of Richard the Lionheart. This Waford von Staufen was born around 1160 and participated in the siege of Acre in 1191.
During the Renaissance period, a Dutch painter named Waford van der Neer (1603-1677) gained fame for his landscape paintings and depictions of moonlit scenes. His works are considered among the finest examples of Dutch Golden Age painting.
In the 18th century, a German composer and organist named Waford Graupner (1683-1760) made significant contributions to the development of the Lutheran church cantata. His compositions were highly regarded during his lifetime and influenced subsequent generations of German composers.
People
Waford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Waford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Waford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Waford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Waford 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 Waford a common name?
We classify Waford 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 Waford most popular?
The single biggest year for Waford was 1925, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Waford 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 Waford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Waford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Waford 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 Waford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Waford 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 Waford 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 Waford?
Find out how many people share the name Waford on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.