# Sanford (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/sanford/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsænfɚd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 15,044 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 15,044 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | not in the ONS data |

## Etymology

Reduced variant of Sandford.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 6 | 12,008 |
| 2012 | 14 | 6,252 |
| 2013 | 7 | 10,532 |
| 2014 | 12 | 6,981 |
| 2015 | 13 | 6,611 |
| 2016 | 13 | 6,659 |
| 2017 | 12 | 7,025 |
| 2018 | 15 | 5,994 |
| 2019 | 18 | 5,307 |
| 2020 | 17 | 5,419 |
| 2021 | 13 | 6,608 |
| 2022 | 19 | 5,183 |
| 2023 | 8 | 9,597 |
| 2024 | 12 | 7,191 |
| 2025 | 12 | 7,113 |

## People named Sanford

- Sanford B. Dole, American judge (1844-1926)
- Sanford Robinson Gifford, American painter (1823–1880)
- Sanford Meisner, American actor and acting teacher (1905-1997)
- Sanford Bishop, American politician
- Sanford Myron Zeller, American mycologist (1885–1948)
- Sanford Clark, American country-rockabilly singer and guitarist (1935-2021)
- Bill Nye, American science educator, comedian, television host, actor, writer, scientist and mechani
- Mark S. Granovetter, American sociologist
- Sandy Baron, American actor (1937–2001)
- Herbert S. Walters, American politician (1891-1973)
- Mort Garson, Canadian-born composer, arranger, songwriter, and pioneer of electronic music (1924-2008)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.