2000
#12,497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,275
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.84
Rare Last name
Deford
French topographic surname denoting someone who lived near a ford or crossing point of a river.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,516 Americans carry the last name Deford. That puts it at #13,304 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,230 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deford 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.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 136,230
Census rank
#13,304
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,194 bearers of the surname Deford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13304th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deford
The surname DEFORD is of Anglo-Norman French origin, derived from the Old French words "de" meaning "of" and "ford" meaning a shallow place where a river or stream can be crossed. It is believed to have originated in the 12th century when many Norman nobles and soldiers settled in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The name was likely first used to identify someone who lived near a ford or crossing point on a river or stream. It may have been adopted as a surname to distinguish people from different locations who shared the same first name. The earliest recorded instances of the name appear in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire from the late 12th century.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are references to various places called "ford" or containing the word "ford" in their names, suggesting the presence of fords or river crossings in those areas. However, the specific surname DEFORD is not mentioned in the Domesday Book.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname DEFORD was Sir John Deford, a knight who fought in the Battle of Crécy during the Hundred Years' War in 1346. Another notable figure was William Deford, a merchant and alderman in the City of London in the late 14th century.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname DEFORD appeared in various records across England, including parish registers and tax rolls. Some variations in spelling were common, such as Defford, Deeford, and Deaford.
In the 18th century, John Deford (1698-1770) was a prominent landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire. Another notable bearer of the name was George Deford (1754-1832), a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars.
In the 19th century, James Deford (1818-1892) was a well-known artist and painter who exhibited his works at the Royal Academy in London. His contemporary, William Deford (1827-1901), was a respected architect who designed several churches and public buildings in the English Midlands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deford
Among Census respondents with the surname Deford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Deford 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 Deford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 1,992
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 74
- Two or more races2.9% · 64
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 30
- Black or African American1.2% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deford
Deford 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
#13,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,327
+52 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 656 places
2020
#13,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,194
-133 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 151 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,497 | 2,275 | 0.84 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,153 | 2,327 | 0.79 | +52 bearers (+2.3%) | Down 656 places |
| 2020 | #13,304 | 2,194 | 0.73 | -133 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 151 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 Deford 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 | #13,153 | #13,304 | -1.1% |
| Count | 2,327 | 2,194 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.73 | -7.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deford bearers went from 2,327 to 2,194 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 151 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,153 to #13,304.
FAQ
Deford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deford?
Name Census estimates that about 2,516 living Americans carry the surname Deford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,230 residents.
How common is Deford?
Deford ranks #13,304 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,194 people with the surname Deford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,516), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Deford.
Has Deford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deford went from 2,327 recorded bearers to 2,194. That is a decrease of 133 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,153 to #13,304.
What does the Census say about the background of Deford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Deford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (1,992 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Deford (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 Deford mean?
French topographic surname denoting someone who lived near a ford or crossing point of 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 Deford (0.73 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 Deford?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.