2000
#9,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,208
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.19
Rare Last name
Halford
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived near or worked at a halh (hall) ford.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,433 Americans carry the last name Halford. That puts it at #10,241 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 99,841 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Halford 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 Halford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 99,841
Census rank
#10,241
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,994 bearers of the surname Halford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10241st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Halford, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Halford
The surname Halford is of English origin, and it is believed to have originated in the medieval period. The name is derived from a place name, specifically Halford, a village in Shropshire, England. The place name itself is composed of two Old English elements: "halh," meaning a remote meadow or nook of land, and "ford," referring to a shallow river crossing.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Halford surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and properties in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry for Halford in the Domesday Book suggests that the name was already well-established in that region by the late 11th century.
During the Middle Ages, the Halford family held significant landholdings in Shropshire and neighboring counties. In the 13th century, a Richard de Halford was recorded as a landowner in the area, indicating the family's prominence at that time.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Halford surname was Sir Richard Halford (c. 1510-1580), who served as a member of the Privy Council under Queen Elizabeth I. He was also appointed the Lieutenant of the Tower of London in 1570.
Another prominent individual with the Halford surname was Sir Henry Halford (1766-1844), a renowned physician who served as the President of the Royal College of Physicians. He was also the personal physician to King George III and other members of the British royal family.
In the 19th century, Sir Henry St. John Halford (1828-1897) was a distinguished English judge and legal scholar. He served as the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain from 1885 to 1886 and was also appointed as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary.
The surname Halford has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Halford Bridge in Warwickshire, Halford Bury in Oxfordshire, and Halford Village in Shropshire, further reflecting the historical ties of the name to specific locations.
It is worth noting that variations in spelling, such as Halforde, Hallforde, and Hallford, were common in earlier centuries due to the inconsistencies in record-keeping and orthographic conventions at the time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Halford
Among Census respondents with the surname Halford, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Halford 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 Halford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.1% · 2,607
- Black or African American4.5% · 135
- Two or more races4.0% · 121
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 93
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Halford
Halford 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
#9,712
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,340
+132 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Down 383 places
2020
#10,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,994
-346 bearers (-10.4%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,329 | 3,208 | 1.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,712 | 3,340 | 1.13 | +132 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 383 places |
| 2020 | #10,241 | 2,994 | 1.00 | -346 bearers (-10.4%) | Down 529 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 Halford 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 | #9,712 | #10,241 | -5.4% |
| Count | 3,340 | 2,994 | -10.4% |
| Per 100K | 1.13 | 1.00 | -11.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Halford bearers went from 3,340 to 2,994 (-10.4% change). The surname moved down 529 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,712 to #10,241.
FAQ
Halford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Halford?
Name Census estimates that about 3,433 living Americans carry the surname Halford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 99,841 residents.
How common is Halford?
Halford ranks #10,241 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 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 2,994 people with the surname Halford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,433), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 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 Halford.
Has Halford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Halford went from 3,340 recorded bearers to 2,994. That is a decrease of 346 (-10.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,712 to #10,241.
What does the Census say about the background of Halford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Halford, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.1%. The next largest groups are Black (4.5%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Halford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (2,607 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Halford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.1%), Black (4.5%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Halford (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 Halford mean?
A surname of English origin referring to someone who lived near or worked at a halh (hall) ford. 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 Halford (1.00 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 Halford?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.