Explore the Family Name Ponsford

The meaning of Ponsford

English (mainly Devon): habitational name from Ponsford in Devon, recorded in Domesday Book as Pontesfort and in 1249 as Pauncefort. The placename may derive from a river name Pont (from Proto-Welsh pant ‘hollow, valley’) + Old English ford ‘ford’.

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

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

The popularity of the surname "Ponsford" has slightly decreased, according to data from the Decennial U.S. Census. In the year 2000, Ponsford was ranked 75219 in terms of popularity among surnames in the U.S., with a count of 239 individuals. By the year 2010, the rank had fallen to 84463, indicating a drop in popularity by 12.29 percent. The actual count of individuals with the surname also fell by 7.11 percent to 222. This resulted in the proportion per 100k people falling from 0.09 to 0.08, a decrease of 11.11 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#75,219	#84,463	-12.29%
Count	239	222	-7.11%
Proportion per 100k	0.09	0.08	-11.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ponsford

When it comes to the ethnicity of individuals bearing the surname Ponsford, there have been some changes as well, based on Decennial U.S. Census data. In 2000, nearly all (97.91 percent) were identified as White. By 2010, the percentage of Whites had dropped to 95.50, a change of -2.46 percent. Furthermore, while no Hispanic individuals bore the surname in 2000, by 2010 they represented 2.25 percent of the Ponsfords. No Ponsfords were found to identify with Asian/Pacific Islander, two or more races, Black, or American Indian and Alaskan Native ethnicities in either 2000 or 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	97.91%	95.5%	-2.46%
Hispanic	0%	2.25%	0%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%