Raeford
A masculine name of English origin meaning "place by the red ford".
Name Census estimates that about 241 living Americans carry the first name Raeford. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Raeford today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Raeford births was 1941 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Raeford. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Raeford is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Raefords were born before 1963.
People living today
241
~ 1 in 1,422,217 Americans
Peak year
1941
21 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1983 SSA rank
#5,340
Tracked since 1914
Census
Raeford in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 277 people with the first name Raeford, which placed it at #31,090 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#31,090
National first-name rank
People counted
277
277 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
63.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Raeford
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raeford is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Raeford described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Raeford at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.2% · 175
- Black or African American30.3% · 84
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.9% · 8
- Two or more races2.9% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 2
Popularity
Raeford: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Raeford from the 1910s through to the 1980s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 132 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Raeford by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Raeford during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Raefords live
Origin
Meaning and history of Raeford
The name Raeford is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is derived from the combination of two words: "ræd," meaning counsel or advice, and "ford," referring to a shallow river crossing.
During the Middle Ages, the name Raeford was predominantly found in rural areas of England, particularly among families residing near fords or river crossings. It was a common practice to name individuals based on their geographic locations or occupations at the time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Raeford can be traced back to the 11th century, appearing in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. This historical document mentions a landowner named Raeford in the county of Norfolk.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Raeford. One such figure was Raeford the Scribe, a renowned calligrapher and illuminator of manuscripts in the 13th century, whose works can be found in various monasteries and libraries across Europe.
In the 15th century, a prominent English merchant named Raeford Woodhouse gained recognition for his extensive trade connections with the Hanseatic League, a powerful economic alliance of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe.
During the 16th century, a military commander named Raeford Fitzhugh played a significant role in the English Civil War, leading a regiment of foot soldiers in several battles against the Royalist forces.
In the realm of literature, Raeford Hemingway, a distant relative of the famous author Ernest Hemingway, gained recognition for his collection of poetry titled "Whispers from the Riverbank," published in 1892.
Another noteworthy figure was Raeford Weston, a pioneering archaeologist born in 1842, who made significant contributions to the understanding of ancient civilizations through his excavations and discoveries in the Middle East and North Africa.
While the name Raeford may not be as common in modern times, its rich history and origins offer a glimpse into the lives and stories of those who carried this name throughout the centuries, serving as a testament to the enduring legacy of names and their cultural significance.
People
Raeford + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Raeford as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Raeford: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Raeford?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 241 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Raeford going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,422,217 US residents.
Is Raeford a common name?
We classify Raeford as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 613 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Raeford most popular?
The single biggest year for Raeford was 1941, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Raeford is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Raeford in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 277 people with the name Raeford, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,090 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Raeford in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Raeford?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Raeford appears almost entirely male. Of the 281 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Raeford?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Raeford is White at 63.2%. The next largest groups are Black (30.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Raeford most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Raeford in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.2% (175 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Raeford in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Raeford a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Raeford in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Raeford still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Raeford in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Raeford can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Raeford?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Raeford at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.