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Bluford
Pronounced BLOO-furd /ˈbluː.fərd/Low
Meaning: Bluford is an English-style surname used as a first name, most naturally read as a place name meaning a blue ford, a shallow river crossing. It sits alongside Buford as a variant and carries a rugged, frontier feel.Low
Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data
U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.
SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.
History & Origin
Bluford is a surname pressed into first-name use, best understood as a place name joining blue to ford, an Old English word for a river crossing. It stands close to Buford as a spelling variant. Passed down as a given name mostly in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it has a plainspoken, frontier-era ring.
Bluford was never a common name. It appeared in United States records only in small numbers, given to fewer than twenty boys a year at its peak in the early twentieth century, with scattered use from the late eighteen-hundreds.
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Frequently Asked
What does the name Bluford mean?
It is a surname turned given name, read as a blue ford or river crossing.
How do you pronounce Bluford?
It is said BLOO-furd /ˈbluː.fərd/, two syllables.
Is Bluford a boy or girl name?
Bluford is used as a boy's name.
How popular is Bluford?
It has always been rare in the United States, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak in the early twentieth century.