Given name & surname
Radford
“from the red ford”
Radford is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “from the red ford.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “from the red 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 1885. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Radford through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,204
- 1,204 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1935
- 26 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,680 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −19%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,680 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 26 in 1935. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 619 as a first name in 2020; 12,286 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.
Radford’s family of names
Radford has a related form in Radferd. Radford has a related form in Radferde. Radford has a related form in Radforde.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 14
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Radford
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Radford, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rexford
“from the king's ford”
>99% boys
Sanford
“from the sandy crossing”
>99% boys
Wilford
“from the willow ford”
>99% boys
Donis
Donis is used as a given name and a surname. Donis is connected with Adonis.
>99% boys
Sherwin
“a bright friend”
>99% boys
Talmadge
“one who loves nature”
>99% boys
Sherwood
“from the bright forest”
>99% boys
Alton
“from the old town”
>99% boys