Benford
A likely English habitational surname meaning “from Benford,” with the place name itself probably referring to a ford or river crossing.
The #8,293 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 77,283 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Benford is generally treated as a habitational surname, taken from a place called Benford in Northamptonshire. The second element is the familiar English ford, meaning a river crossing. The first element is less certain in the older dictionaries, but it appears to be part of the local place-name rather than a personal name or occupation.
History
The surname appears in English surname lists as a locality-based name rather than one with a clear occupational or nickname origin. It stayed comparatively uncommon, and modern bearers are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United States and Britain. Because the surviving excerpts only mention it incidentally, the older literature does not give much family-specific detail beyond its place-name character.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name was already recognized by late 19th-century surname scholars as a Northants place-name surname, even though its exact first element was not fully explained.
From the historical record
“loc n., Northants Benford. From Bainsford ; a loc. n., Stirling Benham. From Benholme ; a”
— British Family Names: their origin and meaning (2nd ed.)