Explore the Family Name Safford

The meaning of Safford

English: 1. habitational name from Salford (Lancashire), Salford (Bedfordshire), or Salfords in Horley (Surrey), from Old English salh ‘willow, sallow’ + ford ‘ford, river crossing’. 2. habitational name from Salford (Oxfordshire), Abbots Salford and Salford Priors (Warwickshire), or Saltford (Somerset), from Old English salt ‘salt’ + ford ‘ford, river crossing’. 3. possibly a habitational name from Seaford (Sussex), from Old English sǣ ‘sea’ + ford ‘ford’. Until the 16th century, the Ouse river flowed into the sea at this point.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Safford has seen a slight decline from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, Safford ranked at 9,252 with 3,241 individuals carrying the name, equating to approximately 1.2 per 100,000 people. By 2010, the rank had fallen to 10,237 and the count decreased to 3,148, dropping the proportion per 100,000 to 1.07. This represents a decrease in popularity of approximately 10.65% and a reduction in total count by about 2.87%.

20002010Change
Rank#9,252#10,237-10.65%
Count3,2413,148-2.87%
Proportion per 100k1.21.07-10.83%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Safford

When considering the ethnic identity associated with the surname Safford, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows minor fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. The majority of individuals with the surname identify as White, accounting for 71.68% in 2000 and slightly decreasing to 71.25% in 2010. Those identifying as Black constitute the second largest group, holding steady at around 23.88% in 2000 and 23.73% in 2010. Other ethnic identities such as Asian/Pacific Islander, Two or more races, Hispanic, and American Indian and Alaskan Native made up smaller percentages, but notable changes include a 57.14% increase in the Asian/Pacific Islander category and a 26.47% increase for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
White71.68%71.25%-0.6%
Black23.88%23.73%-0.63%
Two or More Races2.19%2.16%-1.37%
Hispanic1.3%1.56%20%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.68%0.86%26.47%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.28%0.44%57.14%

Safford ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Safford is British & Irish, which comprises 48.9% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (27.3%) and Scandinavian (4.1%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Nigerian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, and Italian.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish48.9%
French & German27.3%
Scandinavian4.1%
Other19.7%
Safford

Possible origins of the surname Safford

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Safford have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom83.80%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom83.80%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom83.80%
Merseyside, United Kingdom83.80%
Greater London, United Kingdom83.80%

What Safford haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Safford is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Safford surname are: H, T2, K1. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

saffordPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Safford have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Safford

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Safford" Surname 42.1%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Safford

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Safford" Surname 43.8%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Safford

Kinesthetic Learner

Preferring to learn and process information through hands-on activities, practical experiences, and active engagement.

"Safford" Surname 62.5%

23andMe Users 61.5%

Wellness

Safford

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Safford" Surname 16.4%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Safford?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Safford are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%