Ford
Meaning
place name/surname meaning 'river crossing'
The story
Ford is the river crossing, the shallow place where the road goes through, and its American record wears the name's three lives plainly: a real early-century presence, about 700 a decade in the 1910s and 1920s while the surname was becoming the most famous badge in American industry, a long mid-century rest, and the surname wave's late arrival, about 630 in the 2000s, 2,800 in the 2010s, and already 3,700 so far this decade, past the full 2010s with years to run. It goes to boys almost absolutely: about 10,900 to 17. A president carried the surname through the 1970s, and a beloved science-fiction comedy gave it to a hero from quite another planet, none of which the certificate needs: the crossing is the meaning, the place where getting to the other side is possible on foot. The record keeps finding it.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Ford peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
When you meet Ford
Most people given the name Ford in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Ford deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Ford truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Ford fits with your family’s names and surname.
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