2000
#3,787
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,589
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.18
Rare Last name
Weatherford
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "ford by a wether," referring to a castrated ram.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,346 Americans carry the last name Weatherford. That puts it at #4,210 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,674 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Weatherford 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.
Bearers in the US
9.3K
1 in 36,674
Census rank
#4,210
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,150 bearers of the surname Weatherford in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4210th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Weatherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Weatherford
The surname Weatherford originated in England during the medieval period, specifically in the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire. It is derived from the Old English words "weder," meaning weather or storm, and "ford," referring to a shallow river crossing or ford. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a ford susceptible to inclement weather conditions.
The earliest recorded instances of the Weatherford surname can be traced back to the late 13th century. A John de Wethereford was mentioned in the Lancashire Assize Rolls of 1285, while a Richard de Wetherford appeared in the Cheshire County Court Rolls of 1292. These early spellings highlight the variations in the name's spelling over time.
In the late 16th century, the Weatherfords were recorded as landowners in the village of Wilmslow, Cheshire. A notable member of this family was John Weatherford (1537-1611), a wealthy yeoman farmer and church warden in Wilmslow.
During the English Civil War (1642-1651), a Captain William Weatherford (1620-1689) fought on the Parliamentarian side and was known for his bravery in battle. He later settled in Staffordshire and his descendants continued to use the Weatherford surname.
In the 18th century, the surname spread across England and Scotland, with several notable figures emerging. Robert Weatherford (1736-1819) was a successful merchant in Glasgow, while James Weatherford (1758-1842) was a prominent politician and magistrate in Northumberland.
One of the most famous individuals with the Weatherford surname was William Weatherford (1781-1824), also known as Red Eagle, a Creek Native American leader who played a significant role in the Creek War (1813-1814) against the United States. Despite initially leading Creek warriors against American forces, he later surrendered and advocated for peace between the Creek and the United States.
Other notable Weatherfords include Sir Edward Weatherford (1801-1878), a British diplomat who served as ambassador to several European countries, and George Weatherford (1854-1932), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Weatherford Foundation in Oklahoma.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Weatherford
Among Census respondents with the surname Weatherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Weatherford 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 Weatherford surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 7,047
- Two or more races5.3% · 432
- Black or African American3.5% · 287
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 236
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Weatherford
Weatherford 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
#4,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,850
+261 bearers (+3.0%)
Per 100,000 3.00
Rank movement Down 229 places
2020
#4,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,150
-700 bearers (-7.9%)
Per 100,000 2.73
Rank movement Down 194 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,787 | 8,589 | 3.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,016 | 8,850 | 3.00 | +261 bearers (+3.0%) | Down 229 places |
| 2020 | #4,210 | 8,150 | 2.73 | -700 bearers (-7.9%) | Down 194 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 Weatherford 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 | #4,016 | #4,210 | -4.8% |
| Count | 8,850 | 8,150 | -7.9% |
| Per 100K | 3.00 | 2.73 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Weatherford bearers went from 8,850 to 8,150 (-7.9% change). The surname moved down 194 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,016 to #4,210.
FAQ
Weatherford surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Weatherford?
Name Census estimates that about 9,346 living Americans carry the surname Weatherford. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,674 residents.
How common is Weatherford?
Weatherford ranks #4,210 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,150 people with the surname Weatherford. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,346), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Weatherford.
Has Weatherford become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Weatherford went from 8,850 recorded bearers to 8,150. That is a decrease of 700 (-7.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,016 to #4,210.
What does the Census say about the background of Weatherford?
Among Census respondents with the surname Weatherford, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.3%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Weatherford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (7,047 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Weatherford appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.5%), Two or More Races (5.3%), Black (3.5%). 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 Weatherford (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 Weatherford mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name meaning "ford by a wether," referring to a castrated ram. 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 Weatherford (2.73 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 have the last name Weatherford?
See how common the surname Weatherford is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.