Show ContentsBelford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Belford family

The surname Belford was first found in Northumberland where they were Lords of the manor of Belford, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Belford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Belford research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1147 and 1376 are included under the topic Early Belford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Belford Spelling Variations

Although the name, Belford, appeared in many references, from time to time, the surname was shown with the spellings Belford, Belfurd, Belforde, Bellford and others.

Early Notables of the Belford family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was

  • Belford of Northumberland

Belford Ranking

In the United States, the name Belford is the 18,342nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [1]


United States Belford migration to the United States +

Gradually becoming disenchanted with life in Ireland many of these uprooted families sailed aboard the armada of sailing ships known as the "White Sails" which plied the stormy Atlantic. These overcrowded ships often arrived with only 60 to 70% of their original passenger list, many dying of cholera, typhoid, dysentery or small pox. In North America, some of the first immigrants who could be considered kinsmen of the Belford family name Belford, or who bore a variation of the surname were

Belford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Ann Belford, who arrived in Virginia in 1666 [2]
  • Alice Belford, who landed in Maryland in 1671 [2]
Belford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • James Belford, who settled in West New Jersey in 1771
Belford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • George and James Belford, who settled in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1840
  • H. J. Belford settled in San Francisco, California in 1852

West Indies Belford migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [3]
Belford Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • John Belford who settled in Barbados with his servants in 1680

Contemporary Notables of the name Belford (post 1700) +

  • Christine Belford (b. 1949), American actress
  • Charles Belford (1837-1880), Irish journalist and publisher
  • Mr. Raye Belford Wilkinson M.B.E. (b. 1942), British racing welfare officer, was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire on 29th December 2018 for services to Young People and Elderly Staff in the Horse Racing Community [4]


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  4. "Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists


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