Given name & surname
Buford
“from the castle near the ford”
Buford is a variant of Burford. One English interpretation is “from the castle near the ford.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Buford is a variant of Burford. One English interpretation is “from the castle near the ford.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Buford is a variant of Burford. An origin associated with Burford is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Buford through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,964
- 10,854 boys · 110 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 334 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #10,884 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 10,884 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 334 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,011 as a first name in 2020; 8,587 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Buford
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Buford, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Burl
“from the knotted wood”
>99% boys
Milford
“from the mill's ford”
>99% boys
Burnell
“the small brown-haired one”
>99% boys
Buster
“pockmark, boil”
>99% boys
Wilford
“from the willow ford”
>99% boys
Bertrand
“the renowned bright raven”
>99% boys
Bertram
“the renowned bright raven”
>99% boys
Burton
“from the fortified town”
>99% boys