Wolford
An English locational surname meaning “from Wolford,” a place-name likely referring to a wolf-haunted riverbank or shore.
The #3,326 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,617 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is usually traced to the English place called Wolford in Warwickshire. One old explanation connects the place-name with Old English elements meaning “wolf” plus “bank, shore, or riverbank,” giving the sense of “wolf bank” or “wolf shore.” A secondary possibility mentioned in older scholarship is that some bearers may instead belong with the related surname Walford.
History
The surname appears in records as a local or habitation name, used for people who came from Wolford in Warwickshire. Early spellings vary widely, including forms such as Wlwnrth and Uolwarde in medieval records, later developing into Woolford and Wolford. Because medieval spelling was fluid, the surname can overlap with related forms such as Walford in some lines.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Wolford is a real place on the River Stour, which fits the older explanation of the name as a landscape surname tied to a riverbank or shore.
From the historical record
“their paternal grandfather. WOLFORD (Eng.) i Bel. to Wolford (Warw,), I2th cent. Wlwnrth, Domesday Uolwarde = the Wolf Bank or Shore (Wolford is on the R. Stour) [O.E. wulf -f waro'S, river-bank, &c. : v. under Warth] 2 for Walford, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)