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International baby names

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Ford

Ford

Say it FORD

Meaning today
River crossing
Original meaning
"a shallow place where a river can be crossed" Online Etymology Dictionary, s.v. ford (n.)
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FORD

Ford

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Ford meaning

Ford is an international boy's name of Old English origin.

A shallow place where a river can be crossed

Also used to mean: river crossing

Ford is an English surname for a family who lived beside a ford, the shallow stretch of a river where people and carts could wade across. The Online Etymology Dictionary traces the word to Old English ford, "a shallow place where water can be crossed", from the same Germanic root as German Furt; it is the ending of place names such as Oxford and Stafford. The surname is known worldwide through the carmaker Henry Ford. As a first name it was borne by the English novelist Ford Madox Ford, born Ford Hermann Hueffer. It is one syllable, said FORD, and pairs well with a longer Indian surname.

Source: Online Etymology Dictionary (etymonline.com), s.v. ford (n.) · entry ford · See the entry · checked 27 Oct 2026

References: Online Etymology Dictionary, ford · Online Etymology Dictionary, Oxford · Britannica, Ford Madox Ford (facts)

Famous namesakes

  • Ford Madox Ford, English novelist

Popularity abroad

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Related names

Also meaning water

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