Windford
A name of Anglo-Saxon/English origin meaning "peaceful stream".
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Windford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Windford today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Windford births was 1930 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Windford. 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 Windford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1930
6 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1930 SSA rank
#3,992
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Windford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Windford from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Windford 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 Windford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Windford
The name Windford is of Old English origin, derived from the words "wind" and "ford," which together mean "the ford or crossing over the windy river." It is believed to have emerged in the 7th or 8th century AD among the Anglo-Saxon tribes of what is now England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Windford can be found in the Domesday Book, a great survey of land ownership in England completed in 1086 AD. Here, it is listed as a place name, referring to a settlement near a windy river crossing.
In the 12th century, the name appears in several medieval manuscripts and chronicles, often associated with landowners or minor nobility. One notable bearer was Windford of Wessex, a minor lord who lived in the late 12th century and was mentioned in the Annals of Winchester for his role in a local dispute.
During the Renaissance period, the name gained some popularity among the English gentry. A prominent figure was Sir Windford Cavendish (1550-1628), a courtier and diplomat who served under Queen Elizabeth I and King James I.
In the 17th century, the Puritan movement in England led to a resurgence of interest in biblical and virtue names, causing Windford to fall somewhat out of favor. However, it remained in use among certain families, such as the Windfords of Yorkshire, who can trace their lineage back to the 15th century.
Other notable bearers of the name include John Windford (1678-1743), an English clergyman and author of several theological works, and Windford Hastings (1809-1881), a British army officer who served in the Indian Rebellion of 1857.
People
Windford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Windford 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
Windford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Windford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Windford 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Windford a common name?
We classify Windford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Windford most popular?
The single biggest year for Windford was 1930, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Windford is about 57 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 Windford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Windford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Windford 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 Windford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Windford 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 Windford 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 Windford?
See how many people have the name Windford on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.