How common is the surname Wofford?

8,856 people in the United States had the surname Wofford in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 34,863 Americans. It ranked 4,011th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Wofford?

Harris Wofford, American politician (1926-2019), followed by John Wofford.

Where is the surname Wofford most common?

Wikidata records people named Wofford in the United States.

Is the surname Wofford getting more or less common?

More common. 8,491 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,856 in 2010, up 4.3%.

The surname Wofford

An English surname, carried by 8,856 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex W163

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Wofford is more common than 97.5% of them.

Origin

English origin

From either Old English wealh (“Welsh”) + ford, meaning "Welshman's ford", or from Old English wulf (“wolf”) + ford, to mean "wolf ford".

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,856 people named Wofford in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 34,863 Americans. That is up 4.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,491.

#4,011

rank among US surnames

8,856

people in 2010

3.0

per 100,000 Americans

+4.3%

change since 2000 (was #3,843)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,002	Stubblefield	8,878	34,776
#4,004	Grabowski	8,877	34,780
#4,005	Vickery	8,874	34,792
#4,006	Loy	8,868	34,816
#4,007	Marte	8,867	34,820
#4,008	Rodarte	8,860	34,847
#4,009	Burnside	8,859	34,851

Who is named Wofford

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

65% of people named Wofford identified as white (not Hispanic), 26% as Black (not Hispanic) and 3.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 65%
Black (not Hispanic) 26%
Two or more races 3.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.8%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Woffords

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Harris Wofford
American politician (1926-2019)
John Wofford
American equestrian, 1931–2021
Thomas A. Wofford
American politician (1908-1978)
Mike Wofford
American pianist, 1938–2025

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Wofford

Wafford

Wofford has the Soundex code W163, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code W163.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Wofford come from?: From either Old English wealh (“Welsh”) + ford, meaning "Welshman's ford", or from Old English wulf (“wolf”) + ford, to mean "wolf ford".
How common is the surname Wofford?: 8,856 people in the United States had the surname Wofford in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 34,863 Americans. It ranked 4,011th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Wofford?: In the 2010 Census, 65% of people named Wofford identified as white (not Hispanic), and 26% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Wofford?: Harris Wofford, American politician (1926-2019), followed by John Wofford.
Where is the surname Wofford most common?: Wikidata records people named Wofford in the United States.
Is the surname Wofford getting more or less common?: More common. 8,491 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,856 in 2010, up 4.3%.