BURFORD
The surname Burford is of strictly English origin, deriving from a place name in the British Isles. The name is locational, denoting a person connected with a particular geographic feature or settlement. Historical records indicate that the name was first recorded in the late twelfth century, with a reference to Clement de Bureford appearing in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1186, during the reign of King Henry I.
The etymology of Burford can be traced to Old English. The first element is either burh – meaning a fortress or fortified place – or beorg – an older word for hill. The second element ford denotes a shallow crossing in a river or stream that can be crossed on foot. Together the components give a sense of a fortified river crossing or a hill ford, which would have been a notable landmark in a rural landscape.
There are two principal locations that appear to be the source of the surname. One is the village of Burford in Oxfordshire, recorded as Beorgfeord in the Anglo‑Saxon Chronicles in 752 and later as Bureford in the Domesday Book of 1086. The second is a namesake place in Shropshire, also listed in the Domesday Book as Bureford. Both locations share the same linguistic elements that formed the name Burford. It was common, especially in medieval England, for families to take on the name of their home settlement, which explains the appearance of individuals such as John de Burreford in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327 and William de Berford, a Freeman of York in 1328.
In addition to its geographical origins, the surname has been associated with several notable individuals in English history. The first recorded Earl of Burford was Charles Beauclerk, also known as the Duke of St. Albans, who lived from 1670 to 1726 and was a son of King Charles I and Nell Gwynn. He served in the Imperial army against the Turk in 1688. Later, Robert Burford (1791‑1861) gained fame as an artist, exhibiting at Leicester Square and the Royal Academy from 1812, and his work received praise from John Ruskin.
Thus, the Burford surname encapsulates a concise linguistic heritage rooted in Old English place‑name traditions, a documented appearance in early English tax records, and a lineage that includes individuals who held positions of prominence within the broader tapestry of English history.
Typical given names associated with the Burford surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Philip
Female
- Amy
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Joan
- Linda
- Louise
- Margaret
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Burford in...
Braille
⠃⠥⠗⠋⠕⠗⠙
Morse
-.....-.-...-.---.-.-..
Semaphore
There are approximately 3,980 people named Burford in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,353rd most common surname in Britain. Around 61 in a million people in Britain are named Burford.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Burford
- Rachael Burford - Female rugby union player
- Oliver Burford - Cricketer
- Roger Burford - Screenwriter (1904 to 1)
- Barbara Burford - Jamaican-born British writer (1944 to 2010)
- George Burford - American soccer coach
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.