Show ContentsField History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Field Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

Etymology of Field

What does the name Field mean?

The ancestry of the name Field dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the area that was near a field. This surname is a topographic name and is derived from the Old English word feld, which literally means the pasture or open country. 1

In this case, the bearer of the surname Field lived in an area of land that was cleared of forest.

Interestingly, "Field, or De la Felda embraces both English and Norman families. Richard de la Felda is mentioned in Normandy, temp John." [reign 1199-1216] 2 This duality of origin is indeed rare.

Early Origins of the Field family

The surname Field was first found in many shires and counties throughout Britain. Some of the earliest records show: Thomas atte Felde in the Writs of Parliament of 1301; William de la Felde in Gloucestershire during reign of King Edward I; and John de la Felde in Herefordshire at about the same time. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list Linot ate [atte] Feld and William a la Feld in Oxfordshire. 3

Robert de Felde was listed as a Templar in Gloucestershire in 1185 and Hugo de la Felde was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Bedfordshire in 1188. John del Feld was listed in Suffolk in 1190 and James atte Felde was listed in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1296. 4

Early History of the Field family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Field research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1407, 1519, 1520, 1530, 1542, 1546, 1549, 1554, 1558, 1560, 1561, 1574, 1577, 1579, 1582, 1583, 1587, 1588, 1592, 1599, 1606, 1609, 1616, 1620, 1624, 1625, 1633, 1636, 1640, 1676, 1782, 1837 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Field History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Field Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Field have been found, including Field, Feild, Felde and others.

Early Notables of the Field family

  • Roger Felde (fl. 1407), of Hereford, an English politician, Member of the Parliament for Hereford in 1407; Sir James Field of West Harrow; and Edmund Feilde (Field) (1620-1676), an English barrister a...
  • John Field or Feild (1520-1587), 'Proto-Copernican' of England, son of Richard Field (d. 1542), was born, as is supposed, at Ardsley, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, between 1520 and 1530. "He lived...
  • Richard Field (1561-1616), was an English divine, "born 15 Oct. 1561, at Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire, of an old and reputable family. 'His ancestors,' says his son and biographer, 'were blessed w...
  • Richard Field (fl. 1579-1624), was an English printer and stationer, the son of ‘Henry ffeilde of Stratford uppon Aven in the countye of Warwick, tanner’ (Arber, Transcript, ii. 93), whose goods and c...

Field World Ranking

the United States, the name Field is the 1,165th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name. 5 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Field is ranked the 560th most popular surname with an estimated 81 people with that name. 6 And in Australia, the name Field is the 348th popular surname with an estimated 10,432 people with that name. 7 New Zealand ranks Field as 287th with 2,105 people. 8 The United Kingdom ranks Field as 320th with 19,234 people. 9

Migration of the Field family to Ireland

Some of the Field family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 232 words (17 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Field migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Field, or a variant listed above:

Field Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Thomas Field, who settled in Virginia in 1607
  • Thomas Field, who landed in Jamestown Va in 1607 11
  • Mr. James Field, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1624 aboard the ship "Swan" 12
  • Zechariah Field, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1629 11
  • Robert Field, from Hampshire, who landed in New England on the ship "James", bound for Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Field Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Christopher Field, who landed in New England in 1714 11
  • Ella Field, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 11
  • Malaky Field, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1764 11
  • Oliver Field, who arrived in New York in 1798 11
Field Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Field, who arrived in America in 1801 11
  • Samuel Field, who arrived in America in 1804 11
  • Peter Field, who landed in America in 1809 11
  • Isaac D Field, aged 31, who arrived in New York in 1812 11
  • Sally Field, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1813 11
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Field migration to Canada +

Field Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Edmund Field, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
  • Thomas Field, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1760
  • Mr.HenryField U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway [Shelburne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 265 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 28, 1783 at Staten Island, New York 13
  • Mrs. Rebecca Field U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1784 13
  • Mrs. Rebecca Field U.E., (née Haines) who settled in Gainsborough [Regional Municipality of Niagara], Ontario c. 1784 she was previously married to Jeremiah Johnson, she had 9 children over the two marriages, she died in 1797 13
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Field Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • John Field, aged 27, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
  • James Field, aged 3, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland
  • Stephen Field, aged 24, a labourer, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1837 aboard the barque "Robert Watt" from Cork, Ireland

Field migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia included the Second Fleet and Third Fleet of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Second Fleet
Third Fleet
  • Mr. William Field, (b. 1761), aged 26, English settler convicted in Winchester, Hampshire on 29th July 1783, sentenced for 7 years for highway robbery, transported aboard the ship "Friendship" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788 11
  • Miss Jane Field, (b. 1730), aged 57, English settler convicted in London on 14th October 1785, sentenced for 7 years for theft, transported aboard the ship "Prince of Wales" leaving in 1787 arriving in New South Wales, Australia in 1788, she died in 1788 11
Following the Second and Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Field Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Patrick Field, (Patt), Irish settler who was convicted in Ireland for life for political prisoner, transported aboard the  "Friendship" on 24th August 1799, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
Field Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Sarah Field, (b. 1785), aged 18, English convict who was convicted in Hampshire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Experiment" on 4th December 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 15
  • Mr. William Field, British settler  who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the  "Fortune And Alexander" on 31st December 1805, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
  • Mr. William Field, (1774 - 1837), aged 31, British butcher who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 14 years for stealing sheep, transported aboard the  "Fortune And Alexander" on 31st December 1805, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
  • Mr.Thomas Field, British settler who was convicted in Buckinghamshire, England for life for stealing, transported aboard the "Fortune" on 31st October 1812, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
  • Mr. James Field, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Dromedary" on 11th September 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 16
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Field 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:

Field Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Henry Claylands Field, who landed in Wanganui, New Zealand in 1840
  • Mr. Field, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "George Fyffe" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 7th November 1842 17
  • Charles Field, aged 23, a smith, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir Charles Forbes" in 1842
  • Elizabeth Field, aged 38, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir Charles Forbes" in 1842
  • Susannah Field, aged 17, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sir Charles Forbes" in 1842
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Field 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. 18
Field Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Mr. Henrie Field, (b. 1611), aged 24, British settler travelling aboard the ship "Expedition" arriving in Barbados in 1636 19

Contemporary Notables of the name Field (post 1700) +

  • Sally Margaret Field (b. 1946), American actress, singer, producer, director, and screenwriter, recipient of two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for a Tony award, and two British Academy Film Awards
  • Frank Field (1923-2023), born Franklyn Feld, American television meteorologist in New York City for five decades, instrumental in publicizing the Heimlich Maneuver
  • Mervin Field (1921-2015), American pollster in California
  • William Todd Field (b. 1964), American actor and writer/director with three Academy Award nominations
  • Cyrus West Field (1819-1892), American businessman and financier who led the Atlantic Telegraph Company and laid the first telegraph cable across the Atlantic Ocean in 1858
  • Stephen Johnson Field (1816-1899), associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1863 to 1897
  • Marshall Field (1834-1906), American merchant
  • Eugene Field (1850-1895), American writer
  • Jessie Field (1881-1971), American teacher
  • ... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
HMS Hood
  • Mr. Edgar C Field (b. 1923), English Ordinary Signalman serving for the Royal Navy from Shirley, Southampton, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 20
  • Mr. Donald Field, British Stoker 2nd Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 21
  • Mr. Henry Victor Field (1886-1917), British Able Seaman from Kent, who was aboard the ship "HMS Vanguard" when she exploded in the Scapa Flow off the Orkney Islands, Scotland on 9th July 1917
  • Mr. William Field, Irish Trimmer from Belfast, Ireland, who worked aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 22
  • Mr. Harry Field (b. 1881), Welsh coal miner from Newbridge, Caerphilly, Wales who was working at the Senghenydd colliery when there was an explosion on the 14th October 1913; he died 23
  • ... (Another 3 entries are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Suggested Readings for the name Field +

  • Notes on Fields (also Field) and Congeneric Families of Ohio and Indiana, 1800-1982 by Elsie Fields Dawson.
  1. Hargrave, Basil, Origins and Meanings of Popular Phrases & Names. London: T. Werner Laurie Ltd, Cobham House, 24 and 26 Black Friars Lane, 1949. Print
  2. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  3. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  6. 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)
  7. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  8. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  9. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  10. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  11. 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)
  12. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  13. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  14. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  16. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
  17. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  18. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  19. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  20. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  21. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  22. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 10) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
  23. Universal Colliery Senghenydd 1913 disaster retrieved 21st September 2019, retrieved from http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/deathrolls/SenghenyddDead1913.htm

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