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

Telesford, 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 Telesford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Telesford in America

Telesford is the 49999th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Telesford surname appeared 419 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Telesford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Telesford 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 Telesford

The surname TELESFORD is believed to have originated in England during the Anglo-Saxon period, around the 5th to 11th centuries. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "tele" meaning "well" or "spring," and "ford" meaning "a shallow place for crossing a river or stream." This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a well or spring where a ford crossed a body of water.

TELESFORD is a locational surname, meaning it likely originated from a specific place or geographic feature. Several villages and hamlets in England bore similar names, such as Telford in Shropshire, and Tilsford in Wiltshire. These place names could have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name TELESFORD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. This suggests that the name had already been established by the late 11th century.

Notable individuals with the surname TELESFORD throughout history include:

1. Sir John TELESFORD (c. 1350-1420), an English knight and landowner who fought in the Hundred Years' War.
2. Margaret TELESFORD (c. 1520-1590), a wealthy merchant and philanthropist in the city of Bristol.
3. Thomas TELESFORD (1602-1670), a Puritan minister and author who emigrated to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1630s.
4. Elizabeth TELESFORD (1745-1823), a pioneering educator and founder of one of the first schools for girls in London.
5. William TELESFORD (1810-1892), a British explorer and naturalist who documented the flora and fauna of the Amazon rainforest.

Over the centuries, the spelling of the surname has evolved, with variations such as Tellesford, Tellisford, and Tilsford being recorded in various historical documents and parish records. However, the core elements of the name, reflecting its connection to geographic features like wells and fords, have remained consistent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Telesford

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

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 Telesford 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 Telesford 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 Telesford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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