Given name & surname

Durward

“a gatekeeper”

Durward is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a gatekeeper.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

One English interpretation is “a gatekeeper.”

Where it comes from

An origin associated with this spelling is English.

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1884. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Durward through the years

Babies since 1880
2,873
2,873 boys · 0 girls
Most popular year
1916
118 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
0501001501900192019401960198020002025Highest share 19120.0
Durward in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1884–2025, per million boys born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1991. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 118 in 1916. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 737 as a first name in 2020; 138 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.

Durward’s family of names

Durward has a related form in Derward. Durward has a related form in Derwarden. Durward has a related form in Derwerd.

Walk Durward’s family in the name graph

DurwardDerwardDerwerdenDerwardenDerwerdDurwerdenDurwardenDurwaldDurwerd

The ring: nicknames and forms.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 8

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

People named Durward

Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.

Similar names

If you love Durward, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

English · Old-fashioned

Newell

“from the new manor”

0Not recently recorded

98% boys · 2% girls

German · Old-fashioned

Willard

“a resolute and brave man”

31RareEasing

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Orval

“having the strength of a spear”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Ellsworth

“from the nobleman's estate”

0Not recently recordedCooling

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Milford

“from the mill's ford”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Millard

“the guardian of the mill”

16Very rareCooling

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Elmore

“from the moor of the elm trees”

0Not recently recorded

>99% boys

English · Old-fashioned

Eldred

“an old, wise advisor”

0Not recently recorded

93% boys · 7% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Durward’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Durward

A sister for Durward