Given name & surname
Rayford
“from the roe deer crossing”
Rayford is used as a given name and a surname. One French interpretation is “from the roe deer crossing.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One French interpretation is “from the roe deer crossing.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is French.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1896. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rayford through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,516
- 5,516 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1937
- 124 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #13,446 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 13,446 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 124 in 1937. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,268 as a first name in 2020; 4,386 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.
Rayford’s family of names
Rayford has a related form in Ray. Rayford has a related form in Rayferd. Rayford has a related form in Rayferde.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Rayford, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Baynard
Baynard is a surname from Anglo-Norman.
>99% boys
Rives
“one who lives by the riverbank”
>99% boys
Boyce
“wood”
>99% boys
Carel
“a free man” · “a joyous song; a small, strong woman”
>99% boys
Brevard
Brevard is a surname from French.
>99% boys
Refugio
“one who provides shelter”
>99% boys
Roberts
Roberts is a given name from Anglo-Norman. It is used in English and Latvian.
>99% boys
Delano
“from”
>99% boys