2000
#13,426
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,080
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.77
Rare Last name
Hereford
A locational surname referring to someone from the city or county of Hereford, England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,245 Americans carry the last name Hereford. That puts it at #14,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 152,675 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hereford 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
2.2K
1 in 152,675
Census rank
#14,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,958 bearers of the surname Hereford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hereford, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hereford
The surname Hereford originates from the city of Hereford in Herefordshire, England. It is an Anglo-Saxon locational name derived from the Old English words "here" meaning army and "fore" meaning a place where people travelled. The name refers to a ford where an army crossed over a river.
The earliest recorded spelling of the surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 which contains references to individuals bearing names derived from Hereford. Some of the earliest examples include Hugo de Hereford listed in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire in 1166 and Henricus de Hereford recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1195.
Notable historical figures with the surname Hereford include Roger de Hereford, a 13th-century Franciscan friar and philosopher who was born around 1215 and died in 1292. Another prominent bearer was Robert Hereford, a 14th-century English cleric and writer who lived from around 1305 to 1390.
Nicholas Hereford, an English scholar and one of the earliest translators of the Bible into English, was born around 1330 and died in 1420. Henry Hereford, a 15th-century English politician and landowner, lived from 1405 to 1479.
The surname Hereford also has connections to the historic cattle breed known as Hereford cattle, which originated in the county of Herefordshire in the late 18th century. One of the earliest breeders and pioneers of this breed was Benjamin Tomkins, who was born in 1719 and died in 1789.
While the surname Hereford has its roots in a specific English location, it has since spread throughout the English-speaking world, particularly to countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand due to migration and immigration over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hereford
Among Census respondents with the surname Hereford, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hereford 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 Hereford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.2% · 944
- Black or African American38.8% · 760
- Two or more races5.0% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 85
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.2% · 62
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hereford
Hereford 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
#13,721
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,206
+126 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 295 places
2020
#14,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,958
-248 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Down 885 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,426 | 2,080 | 0.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,721 | 2,206 | 0.75 | +126 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 295 places |
| 2020 | #14,606 | 1,958 | 0.66 | -248 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 885 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 Hereford 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 | #13,721 | #14,606 | -6.4% |
| Count | 2,206 | 1,958 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.66 | -12.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hereford bearers went from 2,206 to 1,958 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 885 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,721 to #14,606.
FAQ
Hereford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hereford?
Name Census estimates that about 2,245 living Americans carry the surname Hereford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 152,675 residents.
How common is Hereford?
Hereford ranks #14,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.66 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 1,958 people with the surname Hereford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,245), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.66 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 Hereford.
Has Hereford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hereford went from 2,206 recorded bearers to 1,958. That is a decrease of 248 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,721 to #14,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Hereford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hereford, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.2%. The next largest groups are Black (38.8%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Hereford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (944 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hereford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.2%), Black (38.8%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Hereford (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 Hereford mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the city or county of Hereford, England. 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 Hereford (0.66 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 Hereford?
You can see how many people are called Hereford on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.