Benford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain were the first to use the name of Benford. The name had a practical origin since it came from when its initial bearer worked as a keeper of the pound where animals were sheltered. Pinfold was an area where stray animals were rounded up if their owners failed to properly supervise their use of common grazing land as in "a pound or pen for sheep and cattle, sometimes called a pin-fold or pound-fold-a manorial holding for trespassing animals." 1

Early Origins of the Benford family

The surname Benford was first found in Essex where the name was originally recorded as Panfield, a location name in the Domesday Book. 2 Pancevold, was a tenant in chief; and Pancefolt, under-tenant at time of Survey. 3

While Essex, was the first mention of the family, we must look to Sussex to see the lion's share of the entries years later. Here, Thomas ate Pundfolde was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1296 and a few years later, John Pennefold was found in the Subsidy Rolls for 1332. In Suffolk, Richard and Henry Pynfoul was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1327. 4

"Penfold or Pennifold is an old Sussex name. Stephen Penfold was twice mayor of Chichester in the reign of Charles II., and the name is still in the town; at that time the Penfolds held large estates in the parish of Angmering: Hugh Penfold owned the Cissbury estate, Findon, in 1794." 5

Down in Devon, the "B" prefix was often substituted as in John Bynford who was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of 1642 and in this case the family called Binneford in Crediton, in Sandford their home. 4

Early History of the Benford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Benford research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Benford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Benford Spelling Variations

Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. Changes in Anglo-Saxon names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Benford include Penfold, Penfield, Pinfold and others.

Early Notables of the Benford family

More information is included under the topic Early Benford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Benford Ranking

In the United States, the name Benford is the 5,422^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 6

Benford migration to the United States +

Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Benford or a variant listed above:

Benford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jo Benford, aged 20, who landed in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" 7
Sam Benford, who landed in Virginia in 1650 7

Benford Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Gen Benford, who arrived in Virginia in 1706 7
William Benford, who arrived in New York in 1797 7

Benford Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Benford, aged 52, who arrived in New York in 1812 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Benford (post 1700) +

Frank Albert Benford Jr. (1883-1948), American electrical engineer and physicist best known for rediscovering and generalizing Benford's Law
Thomas "Tommy" Benford (1905-1994), American jazz drummer
Tom Benford (b. 1949), American author, writer, songwriter, musician, photographer
Bill Benford (b. 1902), American jazz double-bassist and tubist, brother of Tommy Benford
Anthony "Tony" Benford, American basketball coach
Gregory Benford (b. 1941), American science fiction author and astrophysicist
John W. Benford, American politician, Mayor of Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, 1938-39 8
Harry C. Benford, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1924 8
Dorothy Benford, American politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Mississippi 2nd District, 1988, 1990, 1992 8
Blanche Benford, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2004 8

Historic Events for the Benford family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Sam Austin Benford, American Baker Second Class from California, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 9

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 1) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html