Find out how popular the last name Tedford is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Tedford.

Tedford, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Tedford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Tedford in America

Tedford is the 9679th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Tedford surname appeared 3,354 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Tedford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Tedford to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Tedford

The surname Tedford has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "tud" meaning a protruding piece of land and "ford" meaning a shallow place where a river can be crossed. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived near a river crossing or a protruding piece of land by a ford.

The earliest known record of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where it is spelled as "Tudeford." This spelling variation suggests that the name was originally pronounced with a hard "t" sound at the beginning, rather than the softer "Ted" sound we hear today.

During the 14th century, the name appeared in various records across southern England, particularly in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. This indicates that the name was initially concentrated in this region, likely due to the presence of suitable geographical features that gave rise to the name.

One notable early bearer of the name was John Tedford, who was recorded in the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire in 1348. This suggests that the name had begun to spread beyond its original southern English heartland by the mid-14th century.

Another historical figure with the Tedford surname was William Tedford, a land-owning farmer mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1427. This record provides evidence of the name's continued presence in the region where it is believed to have originated.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the parish records of several villages in Wiltshire, including Tedworth, which may have derived its name from a similar Old English root as the Tedford surname. This connection suggests a potential link between the name and specific place names in the area.

One of the earliest known instances of the Tedford name in North America dates back to the late 17th century, when Thomas Tedford, born in 1665, emigrated from England to Maryland. This highlights the early spread of the name across the Atlantic as part of the English colonization of the Americas.

Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the Tedford surname, including:

1. Sir John Tedford (1492-1558), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire.
2. Elizabeth Tedford (1619-1686), one of the first English settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
3. William Tedford (1732-1804), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War.
4. James Tedford (1815-1892), an Irish-born author and journalist who wrote extensively about the American Civil War.
5. Mary Tedford (1864-1941), a pioneering American educator and advocate for women's rights.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Tedford

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Tedford.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Tedford was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Tedford has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Tedford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Tedford, please contact us.

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