Beauford
Masculine · “beautiful fort”
Beauford is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 1,016 boys against 10 girls since 1880.
The Beaufort scale describes wind by what it does rather than by how fast it moves. Force four raises dust and small branches; force eight breaks twigs off trees and impedes progress; force twelve is described as the air being filled with foam and spray. It was written by a naval officer for men who had no instruments and could only look.
How old is the name Beauford?
Beauford first appears in US birth records in 1905 — 120 years ago. The typical Beauford alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 300 people named Beauford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Beauford most popular?
Beauford peaked in 1934, reaching #1133 nationally. See the whole 1934 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a French place name meaning beautiful fort to Beauford
The story of Beauford
Francis Beaufort wrote his scale in 1805 as a private aid to keeping a log. What made it work was that every step was defined by something a sailor could see — how much sail a full-rigged ship could carry, and later what the sea surface looked like — so two officers on different ships in different oceans would record the same number for the same weather. It became compulsory in the Royal Navy within a generation and is still in use two centuries later, which almost nothing else from a naval logbook of 1805 can claim.
Meaning
beautiful fort
The name is French and transparent: a fine or handsome stronghold, and there are several places in France called that. This spelling substitutes an English-looking ending for the French one, which is the usual American treatment. The Beaufort family in England took their name from one of those castles, and their descendants supplied the Tudor claim to the throne.
How the name formed
- a French place name meaning beautiful fort
- an English family takes the name and supplies a royal claim
- a naval officer writes a wind scale in 1805
- the surname becomes an American first name
- Beauford appears in the record in the 1900s
Related forms: Beaufort · Beaufort
Pronouncing Beauford
BOH-furd
Two syllables, stress at the front. The eau is a French spelling for a single o sound, which English readers handle without difficulty because of beauty and bureau.
Nicknames for Beauford
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1905
- Most boys named
- 193434 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1133reached in 1934
- Change vs 1982
- +20.0%6 in 2020, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Beauford in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Beaufort in French — spelling variant
- Beaufort in English — spelling variant
Beaufords among us
people named Beauford are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Beauford sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Beau and Ford are both available and both are current as names.
- The meaning is favorable and immediately clear.
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- Beaufort is the standard spelling and this ending will be corrected.
- It reads as a surname and some people will treat it as one.
- It is firmly of the early twentieth century in American use.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Beauford to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Beauford? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Beauford
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Beaufords are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Beauford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Beauford in 2025?
- Beauford is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Beauford with classmates?
- Beauford will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More B names
The most-given names starting with B, all years combined.
Brian#339 · Benjamin#11 · Brandon#261 · Bryan#336 · Bruce#536 · Billy#1068 · Bobby#1097 · Bradley#403
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Beauford? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Beauford and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle