Stanford is an English surname and given name of Old English origin. It comes from the Anglo-Saxon words "stan" meaning "stone" and "forth" which means "journey". Therefore, Stanford can be interpreted as "journey to a stony or rocky place".
The name Stanford was originally a topographical surname given to someone who lived near a rocky promontory or outcrop of stones. It is also associated with various places named Stanford throughout England.
One of the most notable people associated with the name Stanford is Leland Stanford, an American industrialist and politician who founded Stanford University in California, which was named after him. The university was established in memory of his son, who died of typhoid fever while traveling abroad.
In literature, Stanford Tinker is a character from the book "The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg.
Overall, Stanford is an uncommon name with a unique meaning and history, making it distinctive and memorable.
The name Stanford has seen significant fluctuations in its popularity over the past century and a half. While it started with modest numbers, such as 6 births annually in the late 1800s, it began to gain traction around the early 1900s, with the first double-digit figure recorded in 1903 (8 births). The name reached its peak popularity in the mid-1940s to late-1950s, with annual birth figures ranging from a low of 105 in 1955 to a high of 135 in 1954. However, starting from the late 1960s, Stanford's popularity declined steadily, reaching single-digit figures by the mid-1970s and remaining there for much of the following decades. In recent years, the name has shown some resurgence, with totals hovering around double digits again since the early 2000s. Overall, a total of 7704 babies have been named Stanford from 1880 to 2023.