Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Raiford isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1913. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Raiford through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 594
- 594 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1931
- 17 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 5 in 1992. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 17 in 1931. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 288 as a first name in 2020; 2,149 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.
Raiford’s family of names
Raiford may belong to the same name family as RAIFFORD. This is a tentative spelling connection.
The ring: spellings.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Raiford
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Raiford, 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
Rolland
“from the renowned land”
>99% boys
Raymon
“a wise protector”
>99% boys
Aldon
“an old friend” · “from the old town”
>99% boys
Arlon
>99% boys
Arlis
>99% boys