first name
SANFORD
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 6,574 people named Sanford, 78% reported their origin as White, 14.3% as Black and 3% as Asian or Pacific Islander. Virtually all are male (99.6%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
What should your name go on next?
Thanks! We'll make the most-wanted one next.
Sanford peaked in 1929, when 315 babies got the name.
At least 15,044 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Sanford by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #743. The largest share of babies named Sanford, 30.2%, were born between 1928 and 1945, the Silent Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Sanford is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sanford has been most common in New York (3×), Hawaii (2.5×), and Alabama (2.2×), and least common in Louisiana (0.24×).
10,190 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Sanford
Also a last name
As a last name, Sanford ranks #990 of 156,621, with 34,723 people. See Sanford as a last name
Compare
🔎 SANFORD 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 45,943 Americans Rarer than 82% of us Peaked in 1929 with 315 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/sanford/