The Crawford surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 164,457 people carried this name — #156 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 1,790 people counted. That is up 4% from 158,121 in 2000.

See Crawford on the map Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Crawford surname

An English and Scottish habitational surname from Old English derived from several different place names.

From Old English crāwe (“crow”) + ford (“ford”).

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

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Crawford’.

An early record he cites: Nicholas de Crauford, Somerset, 1273 — Hundred Rolls.

His entry covers Crawford and Craufurd.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 215 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 96 births for the Crawford name in 1890.

They were registered in all four provinces, most of all in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 4,300 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Down, Londonderry, and Tyrone.”

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 79
Leinster 8
Munster 7
Connacht 2

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

50 people named Crawford live in Switzerland.

They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 20
Vaud 12
Bern 6
Geneva 5
Valais 4
Basel-Stadt 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 40 people named Crawford live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Mendoza.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Mendoza 15
City of Buenos Aires 14
Buenos Aires Province 11

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 29 people named Crawford.

Most of them — 24 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 5 départements, most often Dordogne.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 24
Dordogne 1
Doubs 1
Pas-de-Calais 1
Seine-Maritime 1
Wallis and Futuna 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

26 people named Crawford have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 77 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 6 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Masovian 7
Silesian 5
Lower Silesian 4
Lesser Poland 4
Greater Poland 4
West Pomeranian 2

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In the Nordic population registers

108 people named Crawford is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 108

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Crawford was found among the farmers of 3 counties.

It was most frequent in Northumberland: 37 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 270. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Northumberland 37
Nottinghamshire 12
Lincolnshire 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Crawford was 40 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 250. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “South-west quarter of Scotland, particularly around Greenock.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 587 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Crawford was recorded 240 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 78th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 391. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

377 families named Crawford, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 2,076 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 14 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 107
New York 52
North Carolina 40
South Carolina 36
Connecticut 34
Maryland 30
Virginia 26
Massachusetts 20
Vermont 12
Maine 9
New Hampshire 8
Rhode Island 3

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 235 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Crawford in American newspapers,
1831–1912.

Newspaper page from Daily National Intelligencer carrying the name Crawford
Daily National Intelligencer 1831-04-30
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Crawford
Evening Star 1902-05-24
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Crawford
The Washington Herald 1912-02-12

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

In print

Crawford in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2010s.

268,584 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Crawford. The most, 49,179, date from the 1910s.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 75,798
Queensland 63,050
Victoria 54,050
South Australia 34,523
Western Australia 22,082
Tasmania 16,566
ACT (Canberra) 1,760
Northern Territory 268

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

Who carried it

People named Crawford,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Crawford
    William Crawford 1722–1782 · military personnel
  • Ann Street Barry
    Ann Street Barry 1734–1801 · actor
  • William H. Crawford
    William H. Crawford 1772–1834 · judge
  • Jack Crawford
    Jack Crawford 1775–1831 · sailor
  • George W. Crawford
    George W. Crawford 1798–1872 · lawyer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped — Jack Crawford: FromMorningToMidnight, CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0); the others are in the public domain or CC0 · 184 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Crawford,
in the records of 9 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 States14,461 records

14,461 records of the Crawford name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 5,504
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 2,521
  • Other U.S. records 6,436
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record James David Crawford

    Born 1949; from Memphis, Tennessee. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1970 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Memphis National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Ethel D. Crawford

    Born 1897 in Rhode Island. Enlisted 1944 in the Women's Army Corps at New York City; stenographer. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1963, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

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

    Born 1950; from Bay Shore, New York. U.S. Army, radio teletype operator; killed in action 1971 in Tay Ninh, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 14,461 records for Crawford 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) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain).

Australia5,969 records

5,969 records of the Crawford name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,918
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1,083
  • Other Australian records 1,968
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Mary Crawford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Stately, sailing from Plymouth in 1849. Native of Glasgow, Lanarkshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1851.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  2. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Crawford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Mangles, sailing from London in 1835. Native of St Luke's, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1838.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Letitia Crawford

    Transported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Blackfriar, sailing from Kingston in 1851. Native of Longford. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1854. Married 1854 in Fingal, Tasmania, aged 30.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 5,969 records for Crawford in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain).

Canada1,272 records

1,272 records of the Crawford name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 742
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 123
  • Other Canadian records 407
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Israel Crawford

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the Lady's Adventure, bound for St. Johns, aged 27.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record John Crawford

    Came to Ontario in 1873 aboard the Memphis, bound for Owen Sound, Ontario; Irish.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Marie Crawford

    Buried in 1981 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 79.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 1,272 records for Crawford in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom329 records

329 records of the Crawford name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 190
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 88
  • Other British records 51
  1. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record John Hamilton Crawford

    Born 1894 at Hopeman; medical student edinburgh university. Served in the First World War. Named in the Morayshire roll of honour (1921).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Crawford

    Buried in 1894 at Mar Place Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland, aged 57.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Bridget Crawford

    Buried in 1813 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 64.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 329 records for Crawford in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0); Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

New Zealand140 records

140 records of the Crawford name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 94
  • Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 24
  • Other New Zealand records 22
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record John Dawson Crawford

    Buried in 1960 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 78.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Lavena Burton Crawford

    Died 1964, aged 65; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Pamela Ellen Crawford

    Died 2000, aged 71; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 140 records for Crawford in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Canterbury Maps (Environment Canterbury), Timaru and Mackenzie District Councils (CC BY 3.0 NZ). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands26 records

26 records of the Crawford name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 16
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 6
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 4
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Crawford

    Died 1887 in Vlissingen, aged 60; sailor.

    Open Archives, Zeeuws Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Gilis Crawford

    Married in 1703 in Rotterdam; born in Falkirk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 26 records for Crawford in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

France3 records

3 records of the Crawford name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Mary Reid Crawford

    Born 1924 in the United Kingdom; died 1991 in Tarbes (Hautes-Pyrénées).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Crawford in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Norway3 records

3 records of the Crawford name in Norway Norway's 1910 census
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Census record Ellen Crawford

    Census of 1910: Waldemar Thranesgate, Kristiania; music teacher, born 1871 in Fjære herred.

    Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO)

Showing 1 of 3 records for Crawford in Norway.

Counts: Arkivverket, Digitalarkivet, 1910 census (CC BY 3.0 NO). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Crawford name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Crawford

    Died 1881 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Crawford.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Crawford 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 Crawford volume
Scroll to Top