Explore the Family Name Hereford

The meaning of Hereford

English: habitational name from Hertford (Hertfordshire) (in which the t was lost early, as in the modern pronunciation Harford), Hereford (Herefordshire), or Harford (Devon, Gloucestershire). The Devon and Herefordshire placenames derive from Old English here ‘army’ + ford ‘ford’, while the Gloucestershire and Hertfordshire placenames derive from Old English heorot ‘hart, stag’ + ford.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Hereford in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Hereford saw a slight decrease in rank from 13,426 in 2000 to 13,721 in 2010. However, the count or number of people with this surname increased by about 6 percent during the same period, from 2,080 in 2000 to 2,206 in 2010. The proportion per 100,000 people decreased minimally from 0.77 to 0.75.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,426	#13,721	-2.2%
Count	2,080	2,206	6.06%
Proportion per 100k	0.77	0.75	-2.6%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hereford

Looking at ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data revealed shifts between 2000 and 2010. Those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander decreased by approximately 15 percent. Conversely, individuals reporting two or more races had an increase of around 86.5 percent. White individuals decreased by about 5.55 percent while Hispanic individuals increased by approximately 53.25 percent. Black individuals saw a slight increase of about 2.12 percent while American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals witnessed a 12.4 percent increase. It is also noteworthy that in both 2000 and 2010, the majority of individuals with the Hereford surname identified as white or black.

	2000	2010	Change
White	58.03%	54.81%	-5.55%
Black	35.82%	36.58%	2.12%
Two or More Races	1.63%	3.04%	86.5%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	2.5%	2.81%	12.4%
Hispanic	1.54%	2.36%	53.25%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.48%	0.41%	-14.58%