Given name & surname
Milford
“from the mill's ford”
Milford is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the mill's ford.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the mill's ford.”
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 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Milford through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,211
- 8,198 boys · 13 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 234 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 6 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,170 as a first name in 2020; 2,872 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.
Milford’s family of names
Milford has a related form in Milferd. Milford has a related form in Milferde. Milford has a related form in Milforde.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Milferdvariant
- Milfortvariant · English
- Millferdevariant
- Milferdevariant
- Millfurdevariant
- Milfurdevariant
- Millfordevariant
- Milfordevariant
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People named Milford
- Milford GravesAmerican jazz drummer and percussionist (1941-2021)
- Milford H. WolpoffAmerican paleoanthropologistborn 1942
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Milford, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Millard
“the guardian of the mill”
>99% boys
Melton
“from the mill town”
>99% boys
Malvin
“a leader” · “a friend who offers counsel”
>99% boys
Merton
“from the village near the pond” · “from the town near the lake”
>99% boys
Morton
“from the town near the moor”
>99% boys
Winford
“from a friend's ford”
>99% boys
Wilford
“from the willow ford”
>99% boys
Winfred
“a friend of peace”
>99% boys