Gafford Family History
Gafford Name Meaning
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’. 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. 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).
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022
