Tedford
An English and Scottish surname most likely formed from a place-name ending in “-ford,” meaning a river crossing.
The #9,679 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,053 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Tedford is almost certainly a habitational surname built from a place-name ending in Old English ford, meaning a river crossing or shallow place to cross. The first element is less certain: it may reflect an older local name or personal name, but the exact source is not firmly established from the available evidence. In form and meaning it belongs with the many surnames derived from places ending in -ford.
History
The surname is found in English and Scottish naming patterns, though it is not especially common. Nineteenth-century surname writers listed Tedford alongside many other -ford names, treating it as part of that broader place-name family. Later American census data show a small but established presence in the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
It belongs to a very large surname family: dozens of common English and Scottish names end in -ford, from Stanford to Walford.
From the historical record
“and Sanford, Shackford, Spafford and Spofford, Stafford, Stamford, Staniford and Stanford, Sta- pleford, Strafford, Tedford, Telford, Ufford (i.e., "up ford"), Wallingford, Whitford, Wohl- FORD, Woodford, Woolford ; Fordin, Seaward, Se- ward, Surges (L. 673, f 157), Wade, Wadey, Wady, Drown, Drowne, Eddy, Channel…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)