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

Thedford, 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 Thedford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Thedford in America

Thedford is the 19782nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Thedford surname appeared 1,360 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 Thedford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Thedford 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 Thedford

The surname THEDFORD originates from England, specifically from the county of Norfolk. Its roots can be traced back to the 11th century, deriving from the Old English words "thede" meaning people or nation, and "ford" referring to a shallow river crossing. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a location where a particular group of people or tribe crossed a river.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name THEDFORD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land ownership and taxation in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a landowner named Willelmus de Thedford, indicating that the name was already in use during the Norman conquest of England.

The village of Thetford in Norfolk is believed to be the birthplace of the surname THEDFORD. This settlement dates back to the Saxon era and was an important center for trade and commerce during the Middle Ages. The name THEDFORD likely originated as a locational surname, referring to individuals who hailed from this specific area.

Notable individuals bearing the surname THEDFORD throughout history include:

1. Sir Robert Thedford (c. 1350 - 1420), an English knight and landowner who served as a member of Parliament during the reign of King Henry IV.

2. William Thedford (c. 1475 - 1540), a prominent cleric and scholar who served as the Dean of Windsor from 1527 until his death.

3. Elizabeth Thedford (c. 1560 - 1630), a renowned herbalist and apothecary whose works on the medicinal properties of plants were widely circulated in Tudor England.

4. Thomas Thedford (c. 1620 - 1685), an English settler who emigrated to the Virginia Colony in the mid-17th century and established a successful tobacco plantation.

5. Margaret Thedford (1770 - 1844), a notable British author and poet whose works explored themes of nature and the rural landscape.

Throughout the centuries, the surname THEDFORD has undergone various spelling variations, including Thetford, Thetforde, and Thetforth, reflecting the evolution of language and regional dialects. However, the core elements of the name, derived from the Old English words "thede" and "ford," have remained consistent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Thedford

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

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

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

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