2000
#124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178,397
First available Census row
Per 100,000 66.13
Common Last name
Ford
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked at or lived near a ford, a shallow river crossing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 204,758 Americans carry the last name Ford. That puts it at #140 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 59.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ford 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 Ford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
205K
1 in 1,674
Census rank
#140
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
59.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
179K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 178,559 bearers of the surname Ford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 59.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 140th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ford, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ford
The surname Ford is of English origin, derived from the Old English word "ford," which means a shallow place where a river or stream can be crossed. It was originally an occupational name for someone who lived near a ford or was responsible for maintaining a ford.
The name can be traced back to the 11th century in England, and it appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation in England and parts of Wales commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book lists several individuals with the surname Ford or similar spellings like Forde or Forde.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ford is in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire, which date back to 1176. These rolls mention a person named Radulfus de la Forde, indicating that the name was already in use by the late 12th century.
The surname Ford is also associated with various place names in England, such as Ford in Northumberland, Ford in Sussex, and Ford in Shropshire. These place names likely contributed to the widespread adoption of the surname in different regions of the country.
Notable individuals with the surname Ford throughout history include:
1. John Ford (1586-c.1639), an English playwright and poet, known for his tragedies such as 'Tis Pity She's a Whore and The Broken Heart.
2. Henry Ford (1863-1947), the American industrialist and business magnate who founded the Ford Motor Company and revolutionized the automobile industry with the assembly line production method.
3. Gerald Ford (1913-2006), the 38th President of the United States, who served from 1974 to 1977 after taking over for the resigned Richard Nixon.
4. Sir Edmund Ford (1605-1670), an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1671.
5. Harrison Ford (born 1942), the iconic American actor known for his roles in films such as Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Blade Runner.
While the surname Ford has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world and can now be found in various countries and cultures, reflecting the mobility and diversity of human populations over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ford
Among Census respondents with the surname Ford, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ford 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 Ford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.8% · 106,842
- Black or African American30.7% · 54,886
- Two or more races4.7% · 8,473
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 6,168
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 1,117
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,073
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ford
Ford 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
#137
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 184,832
+6,435 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 62.66
Rank movement Down 13 places
2020
#140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178,559
-6,273 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 59.74
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124 | 178,397 | 66.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #137 | 184,832 | 62.66 | +6,435 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 13 places |
| 2020 | #140 | 178,559 | 59.74 | -6,273 bearers (-3.4%) | Down 3 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 Ford 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 | #137 | #140 | -2.2% |
| Count | 184,832 | 178,559 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 62.66 | 59.74 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ford bearers went from 184,832 to 178,559 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #137 to #140.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Ford
FAQ
Ford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ford?
Name Census estimates that about 204,758 living Americans carry the surname Ford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,674 residents.
How common is Ford?
Ford ranks #140 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 59.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 60 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 178,559 people with the surname Ford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (204,758), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 59.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 59.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 60 of them to have the surname Ford.
Has Ford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ford went from 184,832 recorded bearers to 178,559. That is a decrease of 6,273 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #137 to #140.
What does the Census say about the background of Ford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ford, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.8%. The next largest groups are Black (30.7%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.8% (106,842 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.8%), Black (30.7%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Ford (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 Ford mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who worked at or lived near a ford, a shallow river crossing. 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 Ford (59.74 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 common is the surname Ford?
Want to know how many people have the surname Ford? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.