Brookfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The ancestors of the Brookfield surname lived among the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. The name comes from when they lived by a field near a brook. The surname Brookfield is derived from the Old English words broc, which means brook, and feld, which means field.

Early Origins of the Brookfield family

The surname Brookfield was first found in Middlesex where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Brookfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Brookfield research. Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Brookfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Brookfield Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Brookfield include Brookefield, Brockfield, Brooksfield, Brokefield and others.

Early Notables of the Brookfield family

Notables of the family at this time include

Arthur Montagu Brookfield of Kensington, Middlesex

Brookfield migration to the United States +

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants:

Brookfield Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Joseph Brookfield who settled in New England in 1771

Brookfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

William Charles Brookfield, who arrived in Texas in 1835 1
Thomas Brookfield, who settled in New Castle County, Delaware in 1844
Samuel Brookfield, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1868 1

Brookfield migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Brookfield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. Frederick M.P. Brookfield, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th December 1851 2
Mrs. Maria D Brookfield, British settler travelling from Plymouth aboard the ship "Lord William Bentinck" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 11th December 1851 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Brookfield (post 1700) +

Emery Price Brookfield (1920-2006), American basketball player
Ryan Brookfield (b. 1987), English footballer
Stephen Brookfield (b. 1949), English scholar in adult education
Arthur Brookfield (b. 1870), English former footballer
Mike Brookfield, English professional guitarist
William Henry Brookfield (1809-1874), Anglican priest, Inspector of Schools, and chaplain-in-ordinary to Queen Victoria
John Brookfield (b. 1955), British population geneticist, Professor of Evolutionary Genetics at the University of Nottingham
Arthur Montagu Brookfield (1853-1940), British army officer, diplomat author and Conservative politician
Charles Hallam Elton Brookfield (1857-1913), British actor, author, playwright and journalist
Percy Brookfield (1875-1921), Australian politician and militant trade unionist
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html