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Sanford

Sanford: name meaning, origin & popularity

Meaning
“sandy ford”
Origin
Old English
Say it
SAN-ferd · 2 syllables
Used for
Boys

From an English surname and place name derived from Old English sand and ford. It originally referred to a river crossing on sandy ground.

English namesNames meaning waterNames meaning earthSurname-style namesClassic names

How popular is Sanford?

20243.6 per million US babies
1880192019602000
Drag the line or the slider to read any year. Values are per million US births recorded by Social Security. Records before about 1937 undercount births, so early peaks can look taller than they were.

Babies named Sanford in 202412

Peak year1882

Total US babies since 188015,031

Sanford is rising: use over the last five years is 1.6× what it was a decade earlier.

Names like Sanford

Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.

  • Wesleywestern meadow · Old English
  • Westonwestern settlement · Old English
  • Blakeblack; pale · Old English
  • Oakleyoak clearing · Old English
  • Edwardwealthy guardian · Old English
  • Ashtonash tree town · Old English
  • Kingstonking's town · Old English
  • Brandonbroom-covered hill · Old English

Sanford questions

What does the name Sanford mean?

Sanford means "sandy ford". It comes from Old English. From an English surname and place name derived from Old English sand and ford. It originally referred to a river crossing on sandy ground.

Is Sanford a boy or girl name?

Sanford is mainly a boy's name in US records (100% of uses since 1880).

How popular is Sanford?

12 US babies were named Sanford in 2024. Its peak year was 1882.

How do you pronounce Sanford?

Sanford is usually pronounced SAN-ferd.

Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.