2000
#12,360
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,305
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Warford
An English locational surname derived from a place meaning "ford by a weir or dam."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,438 Americans carry the last name Warford. That puts it at #13,648 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.71 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 140,588 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Warford 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 Warford with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 140,588
Census rank
#13,648
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,126 bearers of the surname Warford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.71 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13648th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Warford, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Warford
The surname Warford has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "waer" meaning "aware" or "cautious," and "ford," referring to a shallow river crossing or a ford. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a ford or who was responsible for maintaining it.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Warford can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror. The Domesday Book mentions a landowner named Warford in the county of Warwickshire.
In the 13th century, records show a William de Warford who was a prominent landowner and nobleman in the county of Staffordshire. He held significant estates in the areas now known as Warford and Warford Bank.
During the 14th century, the Warford family established themselves as a notable lineage in the county of Cheshire. John Warford, born in 1325, was a respected member of the local gentry and served as a magistrate in the region.
In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the Warford surname was Sir Thomas Warford (1490-1558). He was a prominent lawyer and served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Coventry during the reign of King Henry VIII.
Another significant individual with the Warford name was Captain John Warford (1625-1701), who fought in the English Civil War and later became a successful merchant and landowner in the county of Somerset.
Throughout the centuries, the Warford surname has been associated with various place names in England, such as Warford Hall in Cheshire, Warford Park in Staffordshire, and the village of Warford in Warwickshire. These place names likely originated from the Warford family's landholdings or settlements in those areas.
It is worth noting that the spelling of the surname has varied over time, with alternative spellings such as Warforde, Worforde, and Wareford appearing in historical records. However, the core elements of the name, reflecting its Old English origins, have remained consistent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Warford
Among Census respondents with the surname Warford, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Warford 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 Warford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.5% · 1,669
- Black or African American10.7% · 227
- Two or more races5.6% · 119
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Warford
Warford 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
#12,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,420
+115 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 392 places
2020
#13,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,126
-294 bearers (-12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Down 896 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,360 | 2,305 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,752 | 2,420 | 0.82 | +115 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 392 places |
| 2020 | #13,648 | 2,126 | 0.71 | -294 bearers (-12.1%) | Down 896 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 Warford 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 | #12,752 | #13,648 | -7.0% |
| Count | 2,420 | 2,126 | -12.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.71 | -13.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Warford bearers went from 2,420 to 2,126 (-12.1% change). The surname moved down 896 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,752 to #13,648.
FAQ
Warford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Warford?
Name Census estimates that about 2,438 living Americans carry the surname Warford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 140,588 residents.
How common is Warford?
Warford ranks #13,648 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.71 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 2,126 people with the surname Warford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,438), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.71 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.71 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 Warford.
Has Warford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Warford went from 2,420 recorded bearers to 2,126. That is a decrease of 294 (-12.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,752 to #13,648.
What does the Census say about the background of Warford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Warford, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.7%) and Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Warford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.5% (1,669 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Warford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.5%), Black (10.7%), Two or More Races (5.6%). 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 Warford (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 Warford mean?
An English locational surname derived from a place meaning "ford by a weir or dam." 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 Warford (0.71 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 common is the surname Warford?
See how many people have the surname Warford on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.