Surname Boderford - Meaning and Origin
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Boderford: What does the surname Boderford mean?
The last name Boderford is believed to have derived from the Old English words 'boda', meaning 'place of residence', and 'ford', meaning 'fordable river or stream'. Therefore, it is believed to have originally been a habitational name referring to a person from either a place at the crossing of a fordable river or stream, or, a place where people usually crossed a river or stream.
The surname may also be a place of origin stemming from the many places in England named Boderford. These places were named so for various reasons such as a fordable stream found in the area. Another, more obscure, explanation for the surname relates to the ancient Anglo-Saxon word 'boda' which meant 'lord'. This meant a person was either a lord, or related to a lord, of the local area, thus the 'ford' element being present within the surname.
The name is largely concentrated in the counties of North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire in England, with the earliest records of the name appearing in the 16th century. Notable figures with this surname include Robert Boderford of Swindon, Wiltshire, who lived in 1577 and Matthew Boderford of Nether Whalley, Lancashire, who was born in 1712.
Order DNA origin analysisBoderford: Where does the name Boderford come from?
The last name Boderford is rare today but it does exist in several countries around the world. It is most commonly associated with the United Kingdom, particularly Northern Ireland, where it appears most frequently in records. In Ireland, the name is believed to have originated from Borden, an old Norman French name. Records indicate the surname was in use as early as the 13th century in England.
Outside of the UK, the surname Boderford is also found in France, Portugal, Germany, and the United States. In the past century, many people with the Boderford surname have immigrated to the United States, and the surname is now scattered throughout the country. In the US, the name is most commonly encountered in New York, California, and Arizona.
The surname Boderford is also present in Australia, with the first known instance of the Boderford name appearing in 1847 in Adelaide, South Australia. Researchers believe that the surname may have been brought to Australia by an English family emigrating to the new colony.
Finally, there are also instances of the Boderford surname in Canada, particularly Ontario, Nova Scotia, and British Columbia. Many of these families are believed to have originated from England and Europe during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Overall, the surname Boderford is rare today, with most instances of the name primarily located in the UK, US, Germany, Portugal, France, Australia, and Canada.
Variations of the surname Boderford
The surname Boderford is a surname of Anglo-Saxon origin. It is a locational surname, which means it is derived from a location, and it is a topographic surname, which means it was originally given to a person who lived near a physical topographical feature. The original spelling of the surname was Boderford, but over the centuries it has been spelt in a variety of ways. Variants of the surname Boderford include: Boderforde, Boderforde, Boderord, Boderfurd, Boderfyord, Boderfyrd, Bodufyrd, Bouldeford, Bouldeforde, Bowderford, Bodford and Budford.
Surnames that share the same origin as Boderford include Bowdery, Borley, Bordley, and Burdley. The suffix ly, which was commonly found in Anglo-Saxon surnames, is a mark of a patronymic name, meaning these surnames are related to one another, and were formed from a father's name.
Bordley and Burdley could have been derived from a combination of the words Boder and leah. A leah was an Anglo-Saxon clearing, and scholar J.H. Reaney suggests that Bordley could be derived from the combination of the words beard, meaning “grass” and leah, meaning “clearing”, which could refer to lands which have been cleared for grasslands.
Bowler could have been derived from an alteration of Boder, or it could be derived from the Olde English pre-7th Century word bolgere, meaning “bull-spearman”. Lastly, Boderford could have been derived from the Olde English pre-7th Century words boda, which means “messenger”, and ford, which means “ford”, together they mean “Messenger at the Ford”, which was likely an official post at the local Ford.
Famous people with the name Boderford
- Elle Boderford: American actress
- Marie Boderford: French singer
- Cara Boderford: American princess
- John Boderford: Founding father of Wiltshire, England
- Benjamin Boderford: British politician
- Rachel Boderford: Australian TV presenter
- Lee Boderford: American actor
- William Boderford: English sports coach
- Robert Boderford: Architect from Brussels, Belgium
- Joseph Boderford: English cartographer