Brandford last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Brandford is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Brandford.

Meaning of Brandford

From an English place name meaning "broad ford" or "broad crossing".

Brandford, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Brandford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brandford in America

Brandford is the 87663rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brandford surname appeared 212 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Brandford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brandford to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 87663 68782 24.14%
Count 212 267 -22.96%
Proportion per 100k 0.07 0.10 -35.29%

The history of the last name Brandford

The surname Brandford has its origins in the English county of Warwickshire, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "brænd" meaning "burnt" and "ford" meaning "a shallow river crossing." This suggests that the name may have originated from a location where a ford or crossing was situated near a burnt area, perhaps after a fire or other incident.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1332, which mention a John de Brandeford. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region by the 14th century.

In the 15th century, the Brandford surname appears in various historical records, such as the Feet of Fines for Warwickshire from 1455, which references a William Brandford. Additionally, the Brandford family is mentioned in the Visitation of Warwickshire from 1619, suggesting their continued presence in the area.

Notable individuals with the surname Brandford include Sir John Brandford (1483-1558), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Stratford-upon-Avon, who served as the town's bailiff in 1527. Another prominent figure was Thomas Brandford (1621-1695), a scholar and clergyman who became the rector of Chislet in Kent.

In the 18th century, the name appears in the parish records of Warwickshire, with entries such as the baptism of Mary Brandford in 1712 at Stratford-upon-Avon. Additionally, the marriage of George Brandford and Elizabeth Smith is recorded in the same parish in 1764.

Moving into the 19th century, the Brandford surname can be found in various locations across England. One notable individual was William Brandford (1789-1867), a successful businessman and philanthropist from Leamington Spa, who made significant contributions to the town's development.

Throughout its history, the Brandford surname has also been associated with several place names, such as Branford in Oxfordshire and Bransford in Worcestershire, which may share a similar linguistic origin.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brandford

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Brandford.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Brandford was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 8.02% 17
Non-Hispanic Black Only 86.79% 184
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 4.25% 9
Hispanic Origin (S)% (S)

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Brandford has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 8.02% 5.99% 28.98%
Black 86.79% 88.39% -1.83%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races 4.25% 5.24% -20.86%
Hispanic (S)% (S)% (S)%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Brandford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Brandford, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Brandford last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/brandford-surname-popularity/.

"Brandford last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/brandford-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

Brandford last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/brandford-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.