Family name origins & meanings
- English : most probably a variant of Beaufort.
- Possibly an Anglicized spelling of French Buffard, which is from Old French bouffard, a term which meant ‘puffing and blowing’, hence an unflattering nickname for an irascible or self-important man.
- American bearers of this name are mostly descended from Richard Beauford or Beaufort, who came from England to Lancaster co., VA, in 1635.
