Wofford
Old English place name meaning "Wilfred's ford or river crossing".
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Wofford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Wofford today is around 92 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Wofford births was 1922 (10 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Wofford. 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 Wofford is about 92 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Woffords were born before 1944.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Wofford. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1922
10 babies that year
Average age
92
years old
1945 SSA rank
#3,774
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Wofford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Wofford from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 41 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
Wofford 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 Wofford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Woffords live
Origin
Meaning and history of Wofford
The name Wofford is believed to have its origins in Old English, tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon period of the 5th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the combination of the Old English words "wulf" meaning wolf and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing or ford. The name was likely given to someone who lived near a ford where wolves were known to cross.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Wofford can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror. It lists a landowner named Wulfredus in Warwickshire, which is likely a variation of the name Wofford.
In the 12th century, a monk named Wlfordus is mentioned in the chronicles of the Benedictine monastery of St. Albans in Hertfordshire, England. This is believed to be another early spelling variation of the name Wofford.
During the Middle Ages, the name Wofford appeared in various records and documents across England. One notable bearer of the name was Sir John Wofford, a knight who fought alongside King Edward III in the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346.
In the 16th century, a wealthy merchant named William Wofford (1512-1587) was a prominent figure in the city of Bristol, England. He was known for his philanthropic efforts and donated funds for the construction of a school and almshouses in the city.
Another individual of historical significance was Reverend Benjamin Wofford (1780-1850), an American Methodist minister and educator from South Carolina. He bequeathed a substantial sum of money to establish Wofford College, a liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, which was named in his honor.
People
Wofford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Wofford 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
Wofford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Wofford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Wofford 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 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Wofford a common name?
We classify Wofford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 92 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Wofford most popular?
The single biggest year for Wofford was 1922, when 10 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Wofford is about 92 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 Wofford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Wofford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Wofford 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 Wofford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Wofford 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 Wofford 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 have the name Wofford?
See how many people have the name Wofford on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.