William Ashford

(male) Probably the most successful of all the Old French names of Germanic origin that were introduced to England by the Normans. It is derived from Germanic wil ‘will, desire’ + helm ‘helmet, protection’. The fact that it was borne by the Conqueror himself does not seem to have inhibited its favour with the ‘conquered’ population: in the first century after the Conquest it was the commonest male name of all, and not only among the Normans. In the later Middle Ages it was overtaken by John, but continued to run second to that name until the 20th century, when the picture became more fragmented.

English: habitational name from any of several places called Ashford. Those in Essex, Devon, Derbyshire, and Shropshire are named from Old English æsc ‘ash’ + ford ‘ford’. One in Surrey is first recorded in 969 as Ecelesford, probably from a personal name Eccel, a diminutive of Ecca ‘edge (of a sword)’ + ford. The one in Kent is from æscet ‘clump of ash trees’ + ford.