# Oxford (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/oxford/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English habitational surname derived from the city in England.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 4,509 |
| US rank (2010) | 7,387 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 68,473 people |
| Change since 2000 | -1.1% (4,560 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɑksfɚd/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Oxeford, Oxforth, Oxenford, Oxenforth |

## Etymology

From Middle English Oxenford, Oxneford, from Old English Oxnaford (“Oxford”, literally “oxen's ford”), equivalent to ox + ford. Compare Old Norse Öxnafurða.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Oxford in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 88% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.9% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 1.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Similar surnames

Osborne, Osborn, Osburn, Ogburn, Osbourne, Okafor, Osbourn, Ogborn.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.