Meaning of Last Name

Ford is an English surname of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is one of the earliest topographical surnames still in existence. The name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "ford", a shallow place in a river of water where men and animals could wade across. The term was used as a topographical name for someone who lived near a ford. In some cases the modern surname may be locational in origin, deriving from one of the many places named with the Old English "ford", such as those in Herefordshire, Northumberland, Shropshire, Somerset and Sussex, throughout England.