Hereford Surname

153,541st
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 2,863 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States

Hereford Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Hereford,' sometimes 'of Hertford.' The surnames representing the two towns seem to have early got confused.

Warin de Hereford, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Roger de Herford, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Read More About This Surname

Hereford Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,6781:135,34714,173
England981:568,55234,674
Canada221:1,674,800111,190
Wales201:154,72710,755
New Zealand111:411,66631,040
Australia91:2,999,522116,751
Mexico71:17,732,31550,495
India71:109,580,769786,157
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Thailand21:35,319,172966,191
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Saudi Arabia11:30,855,81763,028
Scotland11:5,353,81763,002
Trinidad and Tobago11:1,363,97522,013
Netherlands11:16,887,176156,465
Zambia11:15,849,92253,989
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England451:541,67528,673
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
Wales11:1,568,41619,290
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4361:115,18011,357

Hereford (51) may also be a first name.

Hereford Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'of Hereford,' sometimes 'of Hertford.' The surnames representing the two towns seem to have early got confused.

Warin de Hereford, Cambridgeshire, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

Roger de Herford, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Walter de Herford, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Simon de Hereford, Lincolnshire, 20 Edward I: Placita de Quo Warranto, temp. Edward I-III.

Margery Herford, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

John de Hareford, Somerset, 1 Edward III: ibid.

1766. Married — Christopher Foss and Anna Hereford: St. George, Hanover Square.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) belonging to Hereford, the Anglo-Saxon Hereford = the Military Ford [Old English here, army + ford]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

The town and county of Hertford are vulgarly so pronounced, but there is a parish of Harford in Devonshire with which however the family do not appear to have been connected. According to Burke, "the cunabula gent is was Bosbury, co. Hereford, in the church of which parish there are several ancient monuments of the family." B.L.G.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

From the city. The Herefords of Sufton Court, co. Hereford, claim from Boger de Hereford, a famous philosopher of the XII. century. B.L.G.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Hereford Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Hereford Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Hereford is more frequently found in The United States than any other country/territory. It may be found as a variant:. Click here for other potential spellings of this name.

How Common Is The Last Name Hereford? popularity and diffusion

Hereford is the 153,541st most frequently held last name on earth, borne by around 1 in 2,545,423 people. This last name is mostly found in The Americas, where 94 percent of Hereford reside; 94 percent reside in North America and 94 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,396,783rd most widely held first name worldwide It is held by 51 people.

The surname is most frequent in The United States, where it is borne by 2,678 people, or 1 in 135,347. In The United States it is most frequent in: Alabama, where 15 percent are found, Texas, where 12 percent are found and Tennessee, where 8 percent are found. Other than The United States Hereford occurs in 16 countries. It also occurs in England, where 3 percent are found and Canada, where 1 percent are found.

Hereford Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The frequency of Hereford has changed over time. In The United States the number of people bearing the Hereford last name expanded 614 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 218 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 2,000 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Hereford Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those holding the Hereford last name are 2.23% more likely to be registered Democrats than The US average, with 51% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Hereford earn in different countries varies marginally. In United States they earn 6.42% less than the national average, earning $40,377 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.74% less than the national average, earning $47,330 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

Search for Another Surname

Hereford Reference & Research

Hereford FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.

Hereford FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Hereford
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis