2000
#10,369
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Morford
Derived from a place name meaning "moor ford," referring to a ford crossing a marsh or boggy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,863 Americans carry the last name Morford. That puts it at #11,963 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,719 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morford 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 Morford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 119,719
Census rank
#11,963
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,497 bearers of the surname Morford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11963rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morford, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morford
The surname Morford originates from England and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "mor" meaning moor or marsh and "ford" meaning a shallow river crossing. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near a marshy area with a ford or shallow crossing.
The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears to be Morford in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176. Variations of the spelling included Morforde, Moreford, and Morforth. It is possible that the name may have been a locational surname, referring to a specific place named Morford, though no such place has been definitively identified.
In the 13th century, the name Morford was recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, indicating the presence of the family in that region. The Hundred Rolls were a census-like record compiled in England between 1274 and 1279.
One notable individual with the surname Morford was John Morford, a prominent merchant and alderman of the city of London in the early 15th century. Records show that he was active in trade and civic affairs between the years 1420 and 1450.
Another early bearer of the name was William Morford, who was mentioned in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1487. These rolls were legal records documenting the proceedings of the manorial court.
In the 16th century, the name Morford appeared in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. A baptismal record from 1562 lists the name of a child named Robert Morford.
One of the earliest known instances of the name in America can be traced back to Richard Morford, who was born in England around 1620 and later settled in Long Island, New York. He is considered an early ancestor of many Morfords in the United States.
Other notable individuals with the surname Morford include:
1. Thomas Morford (1741-1809), a prominent merchant and landowner in New Jersey.
2. John Morford (1771-1838), an American politician who served in the United States House of Representatives from New York.
3. Elizabeth Morford (1847-1925), an early American educator and advocate for women's rights.
4. Charles Morford (1880-1954), an English novelist and playwright known for his works set in the Regency era.
5. Wilbur Morford (1909-1987), an American science fiction author and editor who contributed significantly to the genre's development in the mid-20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morford
Among Census respondents with the surname Morford, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Morford 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 Morford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.3% · 2,305
- Two or more races3.1% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 28
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morford
Morford 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
#11,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,792
-55 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 943 places
2020
#11,963
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,497
-295 bearers (-10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 651 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,369 | 2,847 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,312 | 2,792 | 0.95 | -55 bearers (-1.9%) | Down 943 places |
| 2020 | #11,963 | 2,497 | 0.84 | -295 bearers (-10.6%) | Down 651 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 Morford 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 | #11,312 | #11,963 | -5.8% |
| Count | 2,792 | 2,497 | -10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.84 | -12.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morford bearers went from 2,792 to 2,497 (-10.6% change). The surname moved down 651 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,312 to #11,963.
FAQ
Morford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morford?
Name Census estimates that about 2,863 living Americans carry the surname Morford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,719 residents.
How common is Morford?
Morford ranks #11,963 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,497 people with the surname Morford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,863), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Morford.
Has Morford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morford went from 2,792 recorded bearers to 2,497. That is a decrease of 295 (-10.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,312 to #11,963.
What does the Census say about the background of Morford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morford, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.1%) and Hispanic (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 Morford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (2,305 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.3%), Two or More Races (3.1%), Hispanic (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 Morford (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 Morford mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "moor ford," referring to a ford crossing a marsh or boggy area. 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 Morford (0.84 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 are called Morford?
Want to know how many people have the last name Morford? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.