Bedford

Where Bedford comes from

Bedford hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1795
    Bedford Brown born
    American politician in North Carolina
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #745 among boys — 7 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1887
    Peak, #679
    8 babies named Bedford — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1890
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  5. 1927
    Bedford Jezzard born
    English footballer
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Bedford Jezzard · English footballer, 1927–2005
  • Bedford Brown · American politician in North Carolina, 1795–1870
  • Bedford Pim · English naval officer and barrister, 1826–1886
  • Bedford Pierce · English doctor, 1861–1932

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.