The surname Ford has several origins. In some cases it originated as a name for someone who lived near a ford ,[ 1] and is therefore derived from the Old English and Middle English ford .[ 2] In some cases, the surname is derived from places named Ford . Examples of such places include Ford in Northumberland [ 3] (from Old English ford ),[ 4] a place in Somerset ,[ 5] Ford in Shropshire [ 3] (from Old English ford ),[ 4] Ford in West Sussex [ 3] (from Old English ford ),[ 4] and Forde in Dorset .[ 3]
In other cases, the surname is sometimes an anglicised form of three Irish surnames. Two such surnames are Mac Giolla na Naomh , a name meaning "son of Gilla na Naomh "; and Mac Conshámha , a name meaning "son of Conshnámha ".[ 6] These surnames were anglicised Ford because their final syllable was once erroneously thought to be the Irish áth ("ford").[ 3] Another Irish surname anglicised Ford is Ó Fuartháin , a name meaning "descendant of Fuarthán ".[ 7] The personal name Fuartháin , derived from the Irish fuar ("cold"), was once taken to represent the Irish fuarathán ("cold little ford"), which led the name to be erroneously translated "ford".[ 8] The former two Irish surnames were borne by septs centred in the province of Connacht , whilst the latter was borne by a sept centred in County Cork (in the province of Munster ).[ 9]
In some cases the surname Ford is an americanized form of like-sounding Jewish surnames , or else a translated form of the German Fürth .[ 3] Early instances of the surname Ford include de la forda in the eleventh century, æt Fordan in the twelfth-century, de la Forthe in the thirteenth-century, and Foorde [ 5] and de Furd in the fifteenth century.[ 10] The surname Ford , when found in Ireland, may be of English or Irish origin since many Ford families have immigrated to Ireland at various times in history. For example, a particular noted family of the name in County Meath emigrated from Devon in the fourteenth century.[ 11] In Ireland, birth records for the year 1890 reveal that the surname Ford was much less common than the variant Forde (154 births compared to only 39).[ 12]
Aiden Ford , a fictional character from the television show Stargate Atlantis
Alan Ford (actor) (born 1937), English actor
Alan Ford (swimmer) (1923–2008), American swimmer
Alan Ford (comics) , Italian comics character
Aleem Ford (born 1997), American-Puerto Rican basketball player
Aleksander Ford (1908–1980), Polish film director
Alphonso Ford (1971–2004), American basketball player
Andrew Ford (disambiguation) , several people
Andy Ford (born 1954), English association football player and manager
Anna Ford (born 1943), British journalist and newsreader
Arthur Ford (disambiguation) , several people
Ben Ford (baseball) (born 1975), American baseball player
Ben Ford (politician) (1925–2022), British politician
Betty Ford (1918–2011), wife of former United States president Gerald Ford, and founder of the Betty Ford Center
Boris Ford (1917–1998), Indian-born British literary critic, writer, editor and educationist
Brian J. Ford (born 1939), English independent scientist
Bruce Ford (disambiguation) , several people
Budd S. Ford (1840–1879), American politician from Maryland
Byington Ford (1890–1985), American, Pebble Beach and Carmel Valley developer, aviator, son of Tirey L. Ford
Carole Ann Ford (born 1940), English actress
Cheryl Ford (born 1981), American basketball player
Christine Blasey Ford (born 1966), American clinical psychology professor
Christopher Ford , American screenwriter
Clare Ford (1828–1899), English diplomat
Clay Ford (1938–2013), American politician
Clementine Ford (born 1979), American actress
Clementine Ford (writer) (born 1981), Australian writer
Clint Ford (born 1976), American actor and voice-over artist
Clinton Ford (singer) (1931–2009), British singer
Clinton B. Ford (1913–1992), American investor, musician and astronomer
Cody Ford (born 1997), American football player
Colin Ford (born 1996), American actor and voice actor
Colin Ford (curator) (born 1934), British history of photography and museum director
Colt Ford (born 1969), American Hick-Hop Artist
Constance Ford (1923–1993), American actress and model
Curt Ford (born 1960), American baseball player
David Ford (actor) (1925–1983), American actor
David Ford (footballer) (born 1945), English footballer
David Ford (kayaker) (born 1967), Canadian whitewater slalom kayaker
David Ford (musician) (born 1978), British singer-songwriter
David Ford (politician) born 1951, former Leader of the Alliance Party of Northern Ireland , and Minister for Justice.
David F. Ford (born 1948), Anglican theologian
David Robert Ford (1935–2017), British soldier and diplomat, former Chief Secretary of Hong Kong
Dean Ford (1946–2018), stage name of Thomas McAleese, Scottish singer and songwriter, member of the band Marmalade
Debbie Ford (1955–2013), American self-help writer
Debra Ford , American colorectal surgeon and academic administrator
Desmond Ford (1929–2019), Australian Christian speaker and author
Don Ford (born 1952), American basketball player
Donald Ford (born 1944), Scottish footballer
Donald E. Ford (1921–1965), American science fiction editor
Doug Ford (born 1964), current Premier of Ontario
Doug Ford Sr. (1933–2006), Canadian politician
E. B. Ford (1901–1988), British ecological geneticist
Edgar Ford (1876–1943), English cricketer
Edsel Ford (1893–1943), American businessman, president of Ford Motor Company, son of Henry Ford
Eileen Ford (1922–2014), American model agency executive and co-founder of Ford Models
Elena Ford (born 1966), American director within the Ford Motor Company, great-great-granddaughter of Henry Ford
Emile Ford (1937–2016), West Indian-born musician and sound engineer
Gene Ford (1881–1973), American baseball player
Gene Ford (pitcher, born 1912) (died 1970), American baseball player
George Henry Ford (1808–1876), South African natural history illustrator working in Britain
G. M. Ford (born 1945), American author
Gerald Ford (1913–2006), 38th president of the United States
Gerald J. Ford (born 1944), American banker
Gerard W. Ford (1924–2008), American businessman who co-founded Ford Modeling Agency
Gina Ford (born c. 1960), British writer on parenting methods
Glenn Ford (1916–2006), Canadian-American actor
Glyn Ford (born 1950), British politician
Gordon Onslow Ford (1912–2003), British artist
G. Sarsfield Ford (1933–2013), American jurist
Jack Ford (journalist) , American TV reporter and host
Jack Ford (politician) (1947–2015), American educator and politician
"Jack" John Gardner Ford (born 1952), American businessman and politician, son of Gerald Ford
James Ford (pirate) (1775–1833), Kentucky criminal gang leader
James W. Ford (1893–1957), African American politician and Communist Party USA vice presidential candidate
Jaylan Ford (born 2001), American football player
Jeremiah D. M. Ford (1873–1958), American college professor at Harvard
Jeremy Ford (chef) (born 1985), American chef
Jerome Ford (born 1999), American football player
John Ford (disambiguation) , multiple people
Jonathan Ford (disambiguation) , multiple people
Jordan Ford (born 1998), American basketball player
Julian Ralph Ford (1932–1987), Australian ornithologist
Lalatina Dustiness Ford , a fictional character from the light novel and anime KonoSuba
Larry Ford (American football) (born 1988), American football player
Lester R. Ford (1886–1967), American mathematician
L. R. Ford Jr. (1927–2017), American mathematician
Lita Ford (born 1958), British-born singer
Lew Ford (born 1976), American professional baseball player
Louis Ford (1845-?), English businessman, football administrator and referee
Louis Ford (footballer) (1914–1980), Welsh footballer
Louise Ford , British comedian and actress
Luke Ford (born 1981), Canadian-Australian actor
Nick Ford (born 1999), American football player
Sallie Rochester Ford (1828–1910), American writer, newspaper editor
Seabury Ford (1801–1855), American politician
Seth Porter Ford (1817–1866), American physician in the Kingdom of Hawaii
Simon Ford (born 1981), English footballer
Stanley H. Ford (1877-1961), United States Army General
Steven Ford (born 1956), American actor, son of Gerald Ford
Susan Ford (born 1957), American author, photojournalist, daughter of Gerald Ford
T. J. Ford (born 1983), NBA basketball player
Tennessee Ernie Ford (1919–1991), American recording artist and television host
Sir Theodore Ford (1829–1920), Chief Justice of the Straits Settlements
Thomas Mikal Ford (1962–2016), American actor
Tim Ford (politician) (1951–2015), Mississippi politician
Tirey L. Ford (1857–1928), California politician and a novelist
T-Model Ford (c. 1923–2013), American musician
Todd Ford (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey goaltender
Tom Ford (born 1961), American fashion designer
Tony Ford (footballer, born 1944) , English footballer
Tony Ford (footballer, born 1959) , English footballer
Trent Ford (born 1979), British American actor and model
Trevor Ford (1923–2003), Welsh footballer
Trevor D. Ford , British geologist
Wallace Ford (1898–1966), American actor
Walter Burton Ford (1874–1971), American mathematician
Walton Ford (born 1960), American watercolor painter
Wayne Adam Ford (born 1961), American serial killer
Wendell H. Ford (1924–2015), American politician
Whitey Ford (1928–2020), American baseball player
Will Ford (born 1986), American football player
Willa Ford (born 1981), American singer-songwriter
William Clay Ford Jr. (born 1957), American businessman, chairman of Ford Motor Company, great-grandson of Henry Ford
William Prince Ford (1803–1866), Louisiana preacher and farmer, first slave owner of Solomon Northup
Worthington C. Ford (1858–1941), American historian, librarian at the Library of Congress and Brown University
Notes
Sources
"Foran Family History" . Ancestry.com . Retrieved 16 June 2014 . This webpage contains an excerpt of Dictionary of American Family Names . Oxford University Press .
"Ford Family History" . Ancestry.com . Retrieved 16 June 2014 . This webpage contains an excerpt of Dictionary of American Family Names . Oxford University Press .
Black, GF (1971) [1946]. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History . New York: New York Public Library . ISBN 0-87104-172-3 . Accessed via Open Library .
Grehan, I (1997). The Dictionary of Irish Family Names . Boulder: Robert Rineheart Publishers. ISBN 1-57098-137-X . Accessed via Open Library .
MacLysaght, E (1972). Irish Families: Their Names, Arms and Origins (3rd ed.). New York: Crown Publishers. OL 23251759M . Accessed via Open Library .
Mills, AD (2003). A Dictionary of British Place-names (EPUB). Oxford Paperback Reference. Oxford: Oxford University Press . ISBN 0-19-852758-6 .
O'Laughlin, M (1992). The Book of Irish Families Great & Small . Kansas City: Irish Genealogical Foundation. ISBN 0-940134-08-X . Accessed via Open Library .
Reaney, PH (2006). Wilson, RM (ed.). A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.). London: Routledge . ISBN 0-203-99355-1 .
Reaney, PH (1995). Wilson, RM (ed.). A Dictionary of English Surnames (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press . ISBN 0-19-8631464 .
The Great Families of Ireland . Irish Genealogical Foundation. 1981. ISBN 0-940134-11-X . Accessed via Open Library .