Bedford is an uncommon given name of English origin, derived from an Old English personal name Bedwine, which means 'bright friend'. It is also a surname that originally denoted someone who came from Bedford in the county of Bedfordshire, England. The town itself is named after its river crossing point, where the River Great Ouse was easily fordable. Over time, the personal name Bedford has been used sparingly as a given name, with more instances found among historical figures than among contemporary individuals.
Here's a comment on the given statistics:
"In a span of over a century (1880-2022), the name Bedford experienced significant fluctuations in popularity based on annual birth records. The first half of this period, from 1880 to around 1930, showed varied popularity with numbers ranging from 5 to 41 births per year. However, there was a notable increase in popularity during World War I (1914-1918), with the highest number of Bedford births recorded at 28 in 1918.
Post-WWII, the name's popularity dipped significantly and remained relatively low until around the mid-1950s. It then experienced a brief resurgence from 1957 to 1964, with numbers ranging from 7 to 21 births per year. However, since the late 1960s, the name Bedford has seen a consistent decline in popularity, with only five births recorded in most years between 1973 and 2022.
Overall, while Bedford was once a popular name, it has fallen out of favor in recent decades, with a total of 1,240 births recorded over this period."