The Buford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 9,089 people carried this name — #3,907 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 32,500 people counted. That is up 4% from 8,751 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Buford surname

From Old English burg (“castle”) + ford (“ford”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Buford» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In print

Buford in American newspapers,
1888–1907.

Newspaper page from The National Tribune carrying the name Buford
The National Tribune 1888-07-19
Newspaper page from The Washington Times carrying the name Buford
The Washington Times 1907-03-28

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Buford in Australian newspapers,
1850s–1970s.

104 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Buford. The most, 21, date from the 1920s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.8 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 27
South Australia 23
Victoria 21
Queensland 17
ACT (Canberra) 4
Tasmania 4
Western Australia 3

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Buford.

Who carried it

People named Buford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Abraham Buford II
    Abraham Buford II 1820–1884 · military personnel
  • John Buford
    John Buford 1826–1863 · military officer
  • Rivers H. Buford
    Rivers H. Buford 1878–1959 · judge
  • Abraham Buford 1747–1833
  • Algernon Sidney Buford 1826–1911 · manager
  • Munson Monroe Buford 1846–1930 · judge

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Buford,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States491 records

491 records of the Buford name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 303
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 150
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 14
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 3
  • Sacramento County historic burials 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Oscar Buford

    Born 1916 in Georgia. Enlisted 1942 at Kalamazoo, Michigan; molder from Ingham County, Michigan. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Flint Memorial Park, Mount Morris, Michigan.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Alpha Lee Buford

    Born 1941; from El Reno, Oklahoma. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1967 in Kontum, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Buford

    Arrived at New York in 1872 aboard the China from Liverpool, aged 33; mechanic. From England.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 491 records for Buford in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia1 record

1 record of the Buford name in Australia Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record M. R. Buford

    Sailed from Victoria in 1906 aboard the Ortona II, bound for London, aged 47.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Buford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Buford is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Buford volume
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