WAKEFORD
Wakeford is an English surname that derives from a combination of Old English elements describing a physical landmark and a characteristic attribute. It is attested across the British Isles, with its earliest documented use in England.
The name is locational in origin, belonging to a now lost place called Wakeford near Wakeham in Sussex. The first element, wacu, is the Old English word for “watchful”, while the second element, ford, meaning a shallow place in a river or stream that can be crossed. The literal sense of the surname is therefore “watchful at the ford”, implying a person who was vigilant in the vicinity of a crossing.
The earliest known spelling appears as Wakeforde in a mid-16th‑century Sussex church register. A notable record dates back to 1551 when the name is recorded in baptising entries. The earliest fixed individual name is Joane Wakeforde, christened on 12 December 1561 in Farnhurst, a village in Sussex, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the First.
Marriage records also provide insight into the surname’s distribution. One such record is of Jone Wakeford, who married John Steere on 27 April 1569 in Farnhurst. Later, the name appears in Warwickshire, where Brice Wakeford married Mary Grier on 5 February 1754 in St. Martin, Birmingham. Though less common outside Sussex, these appearances indicate that the family maintained a presence in other counties, particularly in the Midlands.
Throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, church registers and civil documents from Sussex confirm that the surname was well established in that county. Its use in more remote counties appears infrequently, suggesting that the name remained primarily a local designation associated with the vanished place of Wakeford.
Typical given names associated with the Wakeford surname
Male
- Alan
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
- Thomas
Female
- Carol
- Deborah
- Dorothy
- Emma
- Helen
- Jean
- Julie
- Lisa
- Margaret
- 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 Wakeford in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,438 people named Wakeford in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,540th most common surname in Britain. Around 22 in a million people in Britain are named Wakeford.
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 Wakeford
- Tony Wakeford - Musician
- Richard Wakeford - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1921 to 1972)
- Richard Gordon Wakeford - Royal Air Force air marshals (1922 to 2007)
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.