2000
#586
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,726
First available Census row
Per 100,000 19.17
Uncommon Last name
Bradford
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "broad ford" – a wide, shallow place to cross a river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 59,529 Americans carry the last name Bradford. That puts it at #636 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,758 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bradford surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bradford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
60K
1 in 5,758
Census rank
#636
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 51,912 bearers of the surname Bradford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 636th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradford, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bradford
The surname BRADFORD is an English name derived from the place name Bradford in West Yorkshire, England. It originates from the Old English words "brad" meaning broad and "ford" meaning a shallow place for crossing a river or stream. The place name Bradford was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Bredford."
Bradford was a significant settlement in the Middle Ages, and the name likely referred to a broad ford across the River Aire. The surname BRADFORD emerged as a locational name, given to people who came from or lived in Bradford. Early records show variations in spelling, such as Bradeford, Bradforde, and Bratford.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname BRADFORD is William de Bradford, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166. Another early bearer of the name was Sir John de Bradford, a 14th-century English knight who served under Edward III during the Hundred Years' War.
In the 16th century, William Bradford (1590-1657) was a prominent figure among the Pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower to establish the Plymouth Colony in North America. He served as the governor of Plymouth Colony for over 30 years and wrote the influential work "Of Plymouth Plantation."
Andrew Bradford (1686-1742) was an American printer and journalist who established one of the first newspapers in the American colonies, the American Weekly Mercury, in Philadelphia in 1719.
Samuel Bradford (1652-1708) was an English-born printer who established the first printing press in the Middle Colonies of British America in Philadelphia in 1685.
William Bradford (1722-1795) was an American lawyer and judge who served as the second Attorney General of the United States under President George Washington.
Throughout history, the surname BRADFORD has been associated with notable individuals in various fields, reflecting its English origins and its presence in both Britain and the American colonies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bradford
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradford, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Bradford bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bradford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.5% · 32,425
- Black or African American28.2% · 14,624
- Two or more races4.8% · 2,473
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,783
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 327
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 280
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bradford
Bradford appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,015
+2,289 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 18.31
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#636
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,912
-2,103 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 17.37
Rank movement Down 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #586 | 51,726 | 19.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #628 | 54,015 | 18.31 | +2,289 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #636 | 51,912 | 17.37 | -2,103 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 8 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bradford surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #628 | #636 | -1.3% |
| Count | 54,015 | 51,912 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 18.31 | 17.37 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bradford bearers went from 54,015 to 51,912 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #628 to #636.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bradford
FAQ
Bradford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bradford?
Name Census estimates that about 59,529 living Americans carry the surname Bradford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,758 residents.
How common is Bradford?
Bradford ranks #636 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.37 per 100,000 residents, which is about 17 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 51,912 people with the surname Bradford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (59,529), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.37 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 17 of them to have the surname Bradford.
Has Bradford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bradford went from 54,015 recorded bearers to 51,912. That is a decrease of 2,103 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #628 to #636.
What does the Census say about the background of Bradford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bradford, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Black (28.2%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bradford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.5% (32,425 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bradford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.5%), Black (28.2%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bradford (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bradford mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place name meaning "broad ford" – a wide, shallow place to cross a river. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bradford (17.37 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Bradford?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.