Stafford Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Stafford last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Stafford last name
Meaning of the Stafford last name: ford by a landing place. Stafford is an English surname from the town of Stafford, "ford by a landing place" on the River Sow. The Staffords, later Dukes of Buckingham, were among the most powerful families of late medieval England. A curious detail: an Anglo-Norman branch settled in County Wexford, where the last name is still common, and settlers later took it to Virginia and the Carolinas.
Arms associated with the Stafford name
In English heraldry gold stood for generosity and blue for loyalty, and coats of arms associated with the Stafford name speak that old language of colour.
Get your full Stafford family history
This is only a glimpse of the Stafford story. The full Stafford 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 Stafford coat of arms. Get the full Stafford report.
Stafford name FAQ
What does the Stafford name mean?
Ford by a landing place. Common variants include Staffard, Stafforde, Staford.
Where does the Stafford surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Ireland and Australia.
Is there a Stafford coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Stafford coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); MacLysaght, The Surnames of Ireland.