Gilford is a surname of English origin, derived from

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

, in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. The name was first recorded as "Gyldeford" in the

Anglo-Saxon Chronicle The ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle'' is a collection of annals in Old English, chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the ''Chronicle'' was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, during the reign of Alf ...

s, circa 800 AD, "Guldeford" in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

of 1086, and "Geldeford" in the Pipe rolls between 1130 and 1156. The place name means "the ford where golden flowers grow", from the

old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

elements "gylde", which is a derivative of "gold", and "ford". Notable people with the surname include: * Darren Gilford (born 1982), Maltese sprinter *

David Gilford David Gilford (born 14 September 1965) is an English professional golfer. Gilford was born in Crewe. In 1981, aged just 15, he won the Carris Trophy, English Boys Under-18 Open Amateur Stroke-Play Championship, at Moor Park. He won the Engli ...

(born 1965), English golfer * Dorothy M. Gilford, American statistician * Gwynne Gilford (born 1946), American actress * Hastings Gilford (1861–1941), English surgeon *

Jack Gilford Jack Gilford (born Jacob Aaron Gellman; July 25, 1908 – June 4, 1990) was an American Broadway, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for ''Save the Tiger'' (1973). Early life Gilfor ...

(1908–1990), American actor *

Madeline Lee Gilford Madeline Lee Gilford (born Madeline Lederman; May 30, 1923 – April 15, 2008) was an American film and stage actress and social activist, who later enjoyed a career as a theatrical producer. Gilford was married, secondly, to actor Jack Gilford ...

(1923–2008), American actress * Yvonne Gilford (c.1941–1996), murdered Australian nurse *

Zach Gilford Zachary Michael Gilford (born January 14, 1982) is an American actor, known for his role as Matt Saracen on the NBC sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights''. In 2021, he starred in the Netflix horror limited series ''Midnight Mass''. In 2022, ...

(born 1982), American actor

References

{{surname English-language surnames