2000
#8,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,803
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.41
Rare Last name
Hufford
Derived from a place name meaning "ford by a hill" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,229 Americans carry the last name Hufford. That puts it at #8,563 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 81,049 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hufford 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 Hufford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 81,049
Census rank
#8,563
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,688 bearers of the surname Hufford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8563rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hufford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hufford
The surname HUFFORD originated in England, with the earliest recorded examples dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "hoh" meaning a heel or ridge, and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing, suggesting that the name was originally a place name referring to a settlement near a shallow river crossing on a ridge or heel-shaped hill.
Records from the 13th century show variations of the name, including Hufford, Hofford, and Huffert, appearing in various regions of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Norfolk. One of the earliest documented instances is in the Hundred Rolls of 1275, which list a John de Hufford in Norfolk.
The HUFFORD name is also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror. Although the spelling is slightly different, it is believed to be related to the modern HUFFORD name.
In the 14th century, the name appears in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, where a Richard Hufford is mentioned as a tenant in 1327. This suggests that the name was well-established in the area at the time.
Notable individuals with the HUFFORD surname include:
1. William Hufford (c. 1520 - 1590), a wealthy landowner and merchant from Lincolnshire.
2. Edward Hufford (1603 - 1678), a Puritan minister and author from Norfolk.
3. John Hufford (1665 - 1732), a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses and prominent figure in colonial Virginia.
4. Mary Hufford (1785 - 1863), an early pioneer and settler in the Ohio Territory.
5. Samuel Hufford (1818 - 1892), a Union soldier who fought in the American Civil War and received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Gettysburg.
The name HUFFORD has also been associated with various place names throughout England, such as Hufford Hill in Yorkshire and Hufford Green in Lincolnshire, further reinforcing its connection to geographical features and settlements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hufford
Among Census respondents with the surname Hufford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hufford 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 Hufford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.9% · 3,351
- Two or more races3.9% · 143
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 112
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 37
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 26
- Black or African American0.5% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hufford
Hufford 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
#8,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,793
-10 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 1.29
Rank movement Down 622 places
2020
#8,563
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,688
-105 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Up 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,042 | 3,803 | 1.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,664 | 3,793 | 1.29 | -10 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 622 places |
| 2020 | #8,563 | 3,688 | 1.23 | -105 bearers (-2.8%) | Up 101 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 Hufford 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 | #8,664 | #8,563 | 1.2% |
| Count | 3,793 | 3,688 | -2.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.29 | 1.23 | -4.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hufford bearers went from 3,793 to 3,688 (-2.8% change). The surname moved up 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,664 to #8,563.
FAQ
Hufford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hufford?
Name Census estimates that about 4,229 living Americans carry the surname Hufford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 81,049 residents.
How common is Hufford?
Hufford ranks #8,563 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.23 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 3,688 people with the surname Hufford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,229), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.23 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 Hufford.
Has Hufford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hufford went from 3,793 recorded bearers to 3,688. That is a decrease of 105 (-2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,664 to #8,563.
What does the Census say about the background of Hufford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hufford, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hufford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (3,351 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hufford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.9%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Hufford (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 Hufford mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "ford by a hill" in Old English. 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 Hufford (1.23 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 Americans have the surname Hufford?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.