Gifford

Where Gifford comes from

Gifford hasn't made it into the dictionaries we draw on, and nobody well known enough for an encyclopedia has carried it yet — so for now its story is the one the SSA record tells. Names that spell a familiar sound a new way often live here for a while before anyone writes them down.

Along the way
  1. 1865
    Gifford Pinchot born
    American forester and politician
  2. 1879
    Gifford Beal born
    American artist
  3. 1891
    First appearance
    #841 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  4. 1898
    Peak, #804
    8 babies named Gifford — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1899
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
In the dictionary

No dictionary entry for this spelling — which is its own kind of rare.

Namesakes
  • Gifford Pinchot · American forester and politician, 1865–1946
  • Gifford Beal · American artist, 1879–1956
  • Gifford Miller · American politician, born 1969
  • Gifford Fox · British politician, 1903–1959
  • Gifford Nielsen · American football player, born 1954

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.