Ford
Ford was the 474th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 642 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 439th with 707 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 267 places. More babies were named Ford in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning ford, river crossing · Old English
Say it FORD /fɔrd/
- Rank in 2025
- #474 boys, down 15 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 642boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2021707 babies
- Total since 1880
- 11,026babies recorded
What does the name Ford mean?
Ford is an English surname for someone who lived near a ford, a shallow place to cross a river, as Wiktionary notes. Dictionary.com traces the word to Old English ford, related to fare and Old Norse fjord. As a boy's first name it is a recent American use, recalling Henry Ford and Harrison Ford.
ford (Old English, “ford, shallow crossing”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Bradford, Stafford.
See also: English names, names that mean water.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ford', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'ford', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Ford popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 17 since 2015.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #474 | 642 |
| 2020 | #459 | 647 |
| 2010 | #1,566 | 101 |
| 2000 | #1,975 | 52 |
| 1990 | #3,212 | 19 |
| 1980 | #3,481 | 12 |
| 1970 | #1,669 | 27 |
| 1960 | #1,325 | 36 |
| 1950 | #1,109 | 41 |
| 1940 | #1,257 | 29 |
| 1930 | #994 | 47 |
| 1920 | #916 | 57 |
| 1910 | #765 | 16 |
| 1900 | #473 | 24 |
| 1890 | #442 | 17 |
| 1880 | #706 | 8 |
How popular is Ford, counting every spelling?
Ford has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #476 for boys in 2025, against #474 on the official list, because Kason/Kasen/Casen and Mohamed/Mohammad/Mohammed and Chosen/Chozen/Chozyn move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Ford?
642 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ford (0.18 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Ford born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 13 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ford.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ford?
About 8,400 people born in the US named Ford are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 4 and 15. That makes Ford a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ford by state
How common Ford was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (3.3×), Idaho (2.1×), Arizona (1.8×), Colorado (1.8×), Michigan (1.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Maryland, New York, New Jersey.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ford: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ford, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Ford · Sibling names for Ford
Questions about the name Ford
What does Ford mean?
Ford means “ford, river crossing” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Ford?
Ford was the 474th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 642 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 439th with 707 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 267 places. More babies were named Ford in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Ford a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Ford in the US.
Where is Ford most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ford was most common in Utah (1.17 per 1,000 boys), followed by Idaho and Arizona.