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Mayfield History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Mayfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Early Origins of the Mayfield family

The surname Mayfield was first found in Staffordshire or Sussex where we find parishes named Mayfield. The Staffordshire parish dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 when it was known as Medevelde. 1 The Sussex parish was originally known as Magavelda in the 12th century. Both parishes have very different histories.

The Sussex parish dates back to "Henry III. [who] granted a charter for a market and two fairs to be held here; the former has long been disused, and the latter are on May 30th for pedlery, and November 13th for cattle and pedlery. A great fire broke out at Mayfield in 1389, which burned the church and the greater part of the village. " 2

The Staffordshire parish dates back to Roman times where "this place, from the discovery of Roman antiquities in the immediate vicinity, is supposed to have been occupied by the Romans: in digging a morass, vestiges of a paved road were discovered, and traces of an old fortification have been found at a place called Clines. " 2

Both parishes literally mean "open land where madder grows," from the Old English "maeddre" + "feld." 3 4 5 Rose Madder or Common Madder or Dyer's Madder, is a herbaceous perennial plant species belonging to the bedstraw and coffee family Rubiaceae.

Ironically, we must look to Kent to find the first record of the family. For it is here that Phillip de Maleville was recorded 1210-1212. Much later, William Mayfeild was listed in Devon in 1642. 6

More recently, the surname is common in Nottinghamshire and this may an additional point of origin. 7

Early History of the Mayfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mayfield research. Another 80 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Mayfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mayfield Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Mayfield, Mayville, Mayfeld, Maifield, Mayfeild and many more.

Early Notables of the Mayfield family

Distinguished members of the family include

the Mayfield family of Kent

Mayfield Ranking

In the United States, the name Mayfield is the 1,004^th most popular surname with an estimated 29,844 people with that name. 8

Mayfield migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mayfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Abigail Mayfield who arrived in Virginia in 1677

Mayfield Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Mayfield who arrived in America in 1774

Mayfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Thomas Mayfield who settled in Maryland in 1813
Thomas Mayfield, aged 33, who arrived in Maryland in 1813 9
John G Mayfield, who landed in New York in 1840 9
V Mayfield, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 9
W Mayfield, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 9

Mayfield migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Mayfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Miss Mary Mayfield, (Travis), English convict who was convicted in Newark-on-Trent (Newark), Nottinghamshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Canada" in March 1810, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 10
Thomas Mayfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1839 11
Rebecca Mayfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1839 11
Fanny Mayfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1839 11
James Mayfield, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Prince Regent" in 1839 11
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mayfield 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:

Mayfield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Henry Mayfield, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Zealandia" in 1861
Thomas Mayfield, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Armstrong" in 1865
Mary Mayfield, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Armstrong" in 1865

Mayfield migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 12

Mayfield Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Jaen Mayfield who settled in Barbados in 1697

Contemporary Notables of the name Mayfield (post 1700) +

Percy Mayfield (1920-1984), American songwriter, best known for his songs "Hit the Road Jack" and "Please Send Me Someone to Love"
Corporal Melvin Mayfield (1919-1990), American soldier awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1945
Irvin Mayfield (b. 1977), American jazz musician
Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), American soul, funk and R&B singer
James Jefferson Mayfield (1861-1927), American judge and code commissioner
Henry J. Mayfield, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Alabama, 1948 13
Harry Mayfield, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1972 13
Earle Bradford Mayfield (1881-1964), American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Senate, 1907-13; U.S. Senator from Texas, 1923-29; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1924 13
Earle B. Mayfield Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1940 13
Don W. Mayfield, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Michigan State House of Representatives from Genesee County 1st District, 1946 ; Candidate in primary for U.S. Representative from Michigan 6th District, 1952 13
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Mayfield family +

USS Arizona

Mr. Lester Ellsworth Mayfield, American Fireman First Class from Colorado, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Hanks, Patricia and Flavia Hodges, A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print. (ISBN 0-19-211592-8)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 9th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canada
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PRINCE REGENT 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839PrinceRegent.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 19) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html