Radford
Masculine · “Old English read or hreod and ford”
Before bridges, a town existed because of a ford. Oxford, Bradford, Stratford, Hertford and Radford are all named for river crossings, and each of them was a place only because the water could be walked through there.
How old is the name Radford?
Radford first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Radford alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 600 people named Radford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Radford most popular?
Radford peaked in 1885, reaching #936 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 9,759 places below that high. See the whole 1885 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From readford to Radford
The story of Radford
A ford determined where roads went, where markets grew and where armies could cross, and English place names record them obsessively. Oxford is the oxen's ford, Bradford the broad one, Stratford the ford on the Roman street, Hertford the hart's, Chelmsford, Guildford, Wallingford and hundreds of others follow the pattern. What makes them useful to a historian is that a ford is fixed by geology, so the name marks a spot that has not moved in fifteen hundred years even where the settlement has. When bridges replaced fords the names stayed, which is why Oxford has no ford and Cambridge, named for its bridge, does. Radford is one of the commoner examples and gave a surname that became an American given name in the nineteenth century.
Meaningscholars disagree
Old English read or hreod and ford, red or reedy ford
Radford is an English place name and surname, from ford with either read, red, describing the color of the water or its bed, or hreod, a reed. Different Radfords have different first elements. The American peak is 1885.
How the name formed
- readford
- Radford
Related forms: Radforde
Pronouncing Radford
RAD-furd
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the second reduced to a schwa.
Nicknames for Radford
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
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 192124 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #936reached in 1885
- Change vs 2022
- −14.3%6 in 2025, from 7
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.
Radford in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Radforde in English — spelling variant
Radfords among us
people named Radford are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Radford
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Radford sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Radford beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Radford in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Rad and Ford are two short forms in very different styles.
- The place-name elements are documented and concrete.
- Two syllables with a firm opening.
- It reads as a surname to most Americans.
- It is easily heard as Bradford or Redford.
- Its 1885 peak places it early in the records.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Radford 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 Radford? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Radford
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Radfords are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Radford are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Radford in 2025?
- Radford ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Radford?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Radford — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Radford with classmates?
- Radford will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Radford
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Allison#10695 · Candido#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Radford? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Radford 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