Contents [hide]

Mansfield History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Mansfield History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The name Mansfield arrived in England after the Norman Conquest of 1066. The Mansfield family lived in Mansfield, a parish in Nottinghamshire. The place-name itself is a combination of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon terms, and literally signifies the field by the hill called Mam, from the Celtic word for a mother or a breast.

Early Origins of the Mansfield family

The surname Mansfield was first found in Nottinghamshire at Mansfield, a market town that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was listed as Mamesfelde. 1 The place name literally means "open land by the River Maun," from the Celtic river name + the Old English word "feld." 2 Looking back further, the area is known to date back to Roman times, with a villa discovered in 1787 by a Major Rooke and a cache of denarii coins found near King's Mill in 1849. Some claim the early English royalty were said to have stayed in the area, with the Mercian Kings using it as a base for hunting in the nearby Sherwood Forest.

Early History of the Mansfield family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Mansfield research. Another 106 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1659 and 1666 are included under the topic Early Mansfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mansfield Spelling Variations

A multitude of spelling variations characterize Norman surnames. Many variations occurred because Old and Middle English lacked any definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England also had a pronounced effect, as did the court languages of Latin and French. Therefore, one person was often referred to by several different spellings in a single lifetime. The various spellings include Mansfield, Manfield, Mansfeild and others.

Early Notables of the Mansfield family

More information is included under the topic Early Mansfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mansfield World Ranking

In the United States, the name Mansfield is the 1,588^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 3 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Mansfield is ranked the 738^th most popular surname with an estimated 58 people with that name. 4 And in Australia, the name Mansfield is the 965^th popular surname with an estimated 4,111 people with that name. 5 The United Kingdom ranks Mansfield as 812^nd with 8,340 people. 6

Migration of the Mansfield family to Ireland

Some of the Mansfield family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Mansfield migration to the United States +

Many English families left England, to avoid the chaos of their homeland and migrated to the many British colonies abroad. Although the conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and some travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute, once in the colonies, many of the families prospered and made valuable contributions to the cultures of what would become the United States and Canada. Research into the origins of individual families in North America has revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Mansfield or a variant listed above:

Mansfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Mr. David Mansfield, who arrived in Virginia in 1619 aboard the ship "Bona Nova" 7
Davy Mansfield, who landed in Virginia in 1623 8
Robert Mansfield, who settled in Lynn Massachusetts in 1630
Thomas and Jane Mansfield, who settled in Virginia in 1634
John Mansfield, who settled in Boston in 1634
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mansfield Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Marry Mansfield, who landed in Virginia in 1718 8
Elizabeth Mansfield, who arrived in Carolina in 1724 8
John Mansfield, who arrived in America in 1765 8
Elizabeth Mansfield, who settled in Maryland in 1774

Mansfield Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Charles Mansfield, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1812 8
Marg Mansfield, aged 25, who landed in America in 1822 8
L J Mansfield, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1850 8
Henry Mansfield, who landed in Texas in 1850-1906 8
James Mansfield, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1850 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mansfield migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Mansfield Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

John Mansfield, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1749

Mansfield Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Peter Mansfield, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1822
Margaret Murphy Mansfield, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1840

Mansfield migration to Australia +

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

Mansfield Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Mansfield, British Convict who was convicted in Derby, Derbyshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Earl Cornwallis" in August 1800, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 9
Mr. William Mansfield, (b. 1775), aged 28, British convict who was convicted in Somerset, England for life for highway robbery, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1852 10
Mr. Edward Mansfield, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 11
Richard Mansfield, a baker, who arrived in New South Wales, Australia sometime between 1825 and 1832
Mr. Joseph Mansfield, British Convict who was convicted in Stafford, Staffordshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dunvegan Castle" on 13th March 1830, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mansfield 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:

Mansfield Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Thomas Mansfield, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1844
Henry Mansfield, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Alma" in 1857
Robert Mansfield, aged 40, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Maori" in 1864
Ann Mansfield, aged 44, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Maori" in 1864
Robert John Mansfield, aged 21, a labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Maori" in 1864
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Mansfield 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. 13

Mansfield Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mr. Richard Mansfield, (b. 1613), aged 22, British settler travelling from London, England aboard the ship "Peter Bonaventure" arriving in Barbados and St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 14
Mr. John Mansfield, (b. 1616), aged 19, British settler travelling aboard the ship "The Dorset" arriving in Barbados in September 1635 15

Contemporary Notables of the name Mansfield (post 1700) +

Sir Peter Mansfield FRS (1933-2017), British physicist awarded the 2003 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Ken Mansfield (1937-2022), American Grammy and Dove Award-winning album producer who was the manager of Apple Records in the United States
Burt James Ray Mansfield (1941-1996), American NFL football center
Walter Roe Mansfield (1911-1987), American jurist, Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (1971-1987)
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield (1803-1862), American career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam
Arabella Mansfield (1846-1911), the first American female lawyer
Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967), born Vera Jayne Palmer, American actress and sex symbol, her tragic death in a car accident inspired the addition of an ICC bar or better known as the Mansfield bar on the back of tractor trailers
Michael Joseph "Mike" Mansfield (1903-2001), Montana politician and statesman, the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader (1961 to 1977), recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Edwin Mansfield (1930-1997), American professor of economics
Harvey Mansfield (b. 1932), Harvard Government Professor and conservative political commentator
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Mansfield family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Norman Leonard Mansfield (1922-1942), English Radio Operator from Hayes, Middlesex, England, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales and survived the sinking, was listed as missing in action 1942 16

HMS Repulse

Mr. William Mansfield (b. 1907), British Ordinary Seaman, who sailed into battle on the HMS Repulse (1941) and died in the sinking 17

HMS Royal Oak

William Harry Mansfield (1913-1939), British Stoker 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 18

Mount Mulligan Mine

William H. Mansfield, Australian coal miner who was killed in the Mount Mulligan Mine explosion in 1921

SS Southern Cross

Mr. John Mansfield (1891-1914), Newfoundlander from St. John's who was aboard the "SS Southern Cross" when it is suspected she sank between the 31st March 1914 and early April during the storm with a heavy load of pelts; no survivors were ever found

Citations +

Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
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 13th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/earl-cornwallis
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th August 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dunvegan-castle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's. Retrieved 23rd September 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
HMS Repulse Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listrepulsecrew.html
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html