Safford History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Anglo-Saxon name Safford comes from when the family resided at the estate of Salford which had three early locations in England including Lancashire, Oxford and Bedfordshire.

Early Origins of the Safford family

The surname Safford was first found in Bedfordshire in the parish of Salford. "This place, which lies on the borders of Buckinghamshire, was formerly the property of a family who took their name from it, and was afterwards possessed by the Drakelows, and the Charnocks, from whom it passed by marriage to the Herveys." 1

Early History of the Safford family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Safford research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1260, 1674 and 1691 are included under the topic Early Safford History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Safford Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Safford include Salford, Sallford, Sallforde, Salforde and others.

Early Notables of the Safford family

Distinguished members of the family include Thomas Saffoled (died 1691), English empiric, (a person who, in medicine or other branches of science, relies solely on observation and experiment) originally a weaver by trade, received a license to practise as a doctor of physic from the bishop of London on 4 Sept. 1674. "He had a shop at...
Another 57 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Safford Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Safford Ranking

In the United States, the name Safford is the 6,732^nd most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 2

Safford migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Safford Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Christopher Safford, who arrived in Virginia in 1613 aboard the ship "Treasurer" 3
Thomas Safford, who landed in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1648 3
John Safford, who arrived in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1665 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Safford (post 1700) +

Jacob Safford (1827-1885), American jurist, Justice of the Kansas Supreme Court from January 9, 1865 to January 9, 1871
James M. Safford (1822-1907), American geologist, chemist and university professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee
Brigadier-General Hermon French Safford (1894-1988), American Chief of Production Services Division, Office of the Chief of Ordnance (1942-1946) 4
Truman Henry Safford (1836-1901), American child calculating prodigy and later became the 2nd Director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College
Captain Laurance F. Safford (1890-1973), U.S. Navy cryptologist and author who wrote a book about Amelia Earhart's disappearance
Anson Pacely Killen Safford (1830-1891), American politician, 3rd Governor of Arizona Territory (1869-1877) the name "Father of the Arizona Public Schools"
William Edwin Safford (1859-1926), American botanist, ethnologist, and educator
Henry K. Safford, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Connecticut State House of Representatives from Woodstock, 1902 5
Ephraim Safford (b. 1769), American politician, Member of Connecticut State House of Representatives from Canterbury, 1821 5
Edward L. Safford (1888-1972), American Republican politician, Newspaper reporter; New Mexico Republican State Chair, 1931 5
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, 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)
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2014, March 26) Hermon Safford. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Safford/Hermon_French/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 26) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html