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Name Lineage

    The first name Milford

    A boy’s name.

    2 syllables Male Also a surname

    Popularity in the United States

    Babies named Milford at birth, 1880–2025

    In 2023, 6 boys born in the United States were named Milford, the 11,789th most popular boys’ name that year. It was used most in 1921, when 234 were.

    0150300 188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025
    8,211
    babies named Milford since 1880
    #11,789
    rank in 2023
    1921
    peak year

    US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.

    Famous people named Milford

    4 on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Milford Graves
      American jazz drummer and percussionist (1941-2021)
    • Milford H. Wolpoff
      American paleoanthropologist, born 1942
    • John Rutter
      British composer, conductor and arranger, born 1945
    • Donald Payne Jr.
      American politician (1958–2024)

    Questions

    Is Milford a boy's or a girl's name?
    Mostly a boy's name: 100% of the 8,211 US babies named Milford since 1880 were boys.
    When was Milford most popular?
    1921 in the United States, when 234 babies were named Milford, its highest rank at 397th.
    Is Milford also a surname?
    Yes. Milford is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.