Origin and popularity of the name CATFORD

Origin

Catford : 1: from East or West Catford (Somerset). This is the predominant source of the modern surname. 2: from Catford (Kent). Some or all of the post-medieval bearers may alternatively belong with (1) by migration which might explain the variant spelling with -s-.

Gafford : 1: English (southeastern): assimilated form of Gatford a name of various origins. In Sussex and Surrey it is perhaps a variant of the habitational name Catford from a place so called in Somerset. Gatford is also from the habitational names Gateford (in Worksop Nottinghamshire) or Gateforth (near Selby Yorkshire) both formed with Old English gāt ‘goat’ + ford ‘ford’ influenced by Old Norse geit ‘goat’.3: Probably also an altered form of German Gaffert: habitational name from Gaffert near Köslin Brandenburg or from a personal name formed with Middle High German gate ‘fellow companion’. The surname Gaffert is very rare in Germany.2: English: perhaps an altered form of Gatewood an occupational name for a ‘goatherd’ (Middle English gate-werde Old English gātweard) or for a ‘gate keeper’ (Middle English gateward Old English ʒeatweard dialect gātward).

Gatford : 1: in Sussex and Surrey perhaps a variant of Catford with voicing of the initial consonant. However the G- spellings are very persistent and there is little sign of early variation with Catford apart from William Catford 1618 Richard Catford 1636 in IGI (Marden Kent) where the initial C- might be an error. Otherwise it might be one of the names in (2) -3 or (4) by migration. 2: from Gateford in Worksop (Notts) which is recorded as Gayteford Gaitford and Geitforth in the medieval period and as Gatford in 1544. The place-name derives from Old English gāt ‘goat’ (genitive plural gāta) influenced by Old Scandinavian geit ‘goat’ + ford ‘ford river crossing’. After 1500 there seems to be no sign of the gentry family of this name that had held the manor of Gateford since the 12th century. 3: perhaps sometimes from Gateforth near Selby (WR Yorks) commonly recorded in the medieval period as Gayteford and occasionally as Gateford and later as Ga(y)teforth. The place-name has the same etymology as Gateford (Notts) in (3) and the two surnames may have been confused. The Yorks name appears to have died out in N England during the 17th century (see Redmonds Dictionary of Yorks Surnames) though it may have survived further south by migration perhaps in an altered form. Some of the following early bearers may alternatively belong with (2). 4: perhaps sometimes an altered form of Gatward. Confusion as to the final element of Gatward is illustrated in Vincent Gatworth 1600 Elizabeth Gatward 1602 Jone Gatewood 1611 Roger Gateford 1618 in IGI (Stixwould Lincs). However the spellings in -worth -ward and -wood could equally well represent variants of Gat(e)ford. Stixwould is not far from Lincoln where Christofer Gaytforth is recorded in 1613 in IGI.

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Last name frequency

Geographic distribution of the 618 individuals with the name CATFORD on Geneanet.

This last name in the family trees

See below the Geneanet members' family trees which contain the last name CATFORD