Alford Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Alford last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Alford last name
Meaning of the Alford last name: alder ford, or Ealdgyth's ford. Alford is an English surname from Alford in Lincolnshire or Somerset, places named after a ford, perhaps one lined with alder trees. The last name is found mainly in the West Country and the south. Curiously, Henry Alford, a Victorian Dean of Canterbury, wrote the hymn Come, Ye Thankful People, Come.
Arms associated with the Alford name
Coats of arms associated with the Alford surname follow English heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Alford family history
This is only a glimpse of the Alford story. The full Alford history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Alford coat of arms. Get the full Alford report.
Alford name FAQ
What does the Alford name mean?
Alder ford, or Ealdgyth's ford.
Where does the Alford surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Alford coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Alford coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); Eilert Ekwall, Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Place-Names; Victoria County History of Somerset.