DUNFORD
Dunford is a surname of English origin, traditionally classed as habitational and deriving from specific localities within the West Riding of Yorkshire.
The name is formed from the Old English elements dun meaning “hill” and ford meaning “a shallow place in a river where it may be crossed”. Consequently, the surname is believed to have been first applied to individuals residing near or associated with a hill or a river crossing. The name is relatively common throughout England and has been recorded with variations such as Dunforde and Dunforth.
Two principal geographical references are recognised. One is Dunford Bridge, a hamlet situated near Penistone. This place name is thought to have been derived from the river Don – an ancient British name possibly meaning “river” – together with the Old English pre‑7th-century element ford; thus the name indicates a ford on the river Don. The second reference is Dunford House in Methley, also in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Here the toponym is believed to combine the Middle English (1200-1500) word dunn, from Old English dunn meaning “dark-coloured”, and ford, giving a sense of “Dunn’s ford”. In both instances the surname may therefore be viewed as topographical, sharing its derivation with the place names themselves.
The earliest documented spelling of the family name appears in the birth record of Thomas Dunfurth, who was christened on 23 March 1581 at Thornhill by Dewsbury, Yorkshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, affectionately known as Good Queen Bess (1558‑1603). A later example is the marriage of Andrew Dunford to Elizabeth Scotte on 29 April 1617 at Thornhill, Yorkshire, which remains a notable early instance of the surname’s use. Subsequent heraldic records show that a coat of arms was granted to the family: a red shield bearing a gold crescent against a silver bend.
Overall, the evidence points to Dunford as a locational surname rooted in clear topographical features of Yorkshire, with its early and continuing use documented through parish registers and heraldic grants in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries.
Typical given names associated with the Dunford surname
Male
- Anthony
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
Female
- Barbara
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jennifer
- Karen
- Linda
- Margaret
- Mary
- 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 Dunford in...
Braille
⠙⠥⠝⠋⠕⠗⠙
Morse
-....--...-.---.-.-..
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There are approximately 3,831 people named Dunford in the UK. That makes it roughly the 2,434th most common surname in Britain. Around 59 in a million people in Britain are named Dunford.
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 Dunford
- Michael Dunford - Guitarist, songwriter, and arranger (1944 to 2012)
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.