Recorded 1880–2023 Boys' name Peak 1921 10,848 births

Buford — boys' name

10,848 babies named Buford in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s691890s1561900s2771910s17371920s27591930s19351940s16521950s9631960s5871970s3751980s2031990s882000s322010s102020s5
1920s
Peak decade

25% of everyone ever named Buford was born in this single decade.

1921
Single peak year

334 babies were named Buford in 1921 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Buford

The Social Security Administration has registered 10,848 babies named Buford between 1880 and 2023, spanning 144 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Buford currently falls outside the top 1,000 boys' names for 2023. The name reached its historical peak in 1921, when 334 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Buford performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 2,759 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Buford shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Tennessee, which accounts for 1,449 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and Alabama. In total, SSA state-level files list Buford in 21 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Buford in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 10,848 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Buford at a glance

Last recorded 2023

Total births

10,848

Since 1880

144 years of records

Peak year

1921

334 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

Unranked

Outside the modern top-1,000

As of 2023

Active since

1880

Recorded for 144 years

Last year on file: 2023

Buford popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2023–1880

Last recorded 2023
Peak year (1921)
334
Annual births at peak — across 144 years of records
-1000100200300400 202319901974195819421926191018941880 11

Buford popularity over time — girls

110 total births recorded since 1908 (Buford as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 110 births
4681012 1952192819231919191619121908 5

Buford by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
2,759 births that decade — 25% of Buford's all-time total
1880s691890s1561900s2771910s17371920s27591930s19351940s16521950s9631960s5871970s3751980s2031990s882000s322010s102020s5

Buford by state

Where Buford concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Buford
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Tennessee
1,449 13.4%
#2 Texas
926 8.5%
#3 Alabama
899 8.3%
#4 Georgia
838 7.7%
#5 Kentucky
710 6.5%
#6 Virginia
597 5.5%
#7 Mississippi
538 5.0%
#8 Arkansas
332 3.1%
Tennessee share of Buford's total US births 13.4%
Even split

1,449 of 10,848 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 21 reporting states.

Buford appears in 21 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Buford?
10,848 babies have been named Buford since 1880. It was last recorded in 2023. The peak year was 1921 with 334 births.
When was Buford most popular?
Buford was most popular in the 1920s decade with 2,759 total births. The single peak year was 1921.
Where is Buford most popular?
The top states for the name Buford are Tennessee (1,449 births), Texas (926 births), Alabama (899 births).
How long has the name Buford been used?
Buford has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 144 years of data through 2023.
What names are similar to Buford?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Bufford, Buff, Bufard, Buffy. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2023 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.