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| Origins Available: |
| | England |
The present generation of the Bifield family is only the most recent to bear a name that dates back to the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name comes from having lived in Northamptonshire, where the name is associated with the village of Byfield. In the Domesday Book of 1086, Byfield was recorded as lands held by Hugh de Grandmesnil and Earl Hugh. 1
The place name literally means "place by the open country," from the Old English "bi" + "feld." 2
The surname Bifield was first found in Northamptonshire, at Byfield, a parish, in the union of Daventry, hundred of Chipping-Warden. 3 4 5
One of the first records of the family was found in Norfolk where Nigel de Bifeld was listed in the Feet of Fines for 1202. Later Robert de Byfeld was listed in the Assize Rolls for Northamptonshire in 1314-1316. Later again, Adam Byfelde was found in Gloucestershire in 1367. 6
The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 included an entry for John de Byfeld, but no county was provided for this entry. 7
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bifield research. Another 178 words (13 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1273, 1367, 1579, 1596, 1597, 1598, 1615, 1616, 1622, 1643, 1654, 1660, 1664, 1665 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Bifield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Until the dictionary, an invention of only the last few hundred years, the English language lacked any comprehensive system of spelling rules. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents. One person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. The recorded variations of Bifield include Byfield, Byfeld, Byfelde, Byfild, Byfielde, Bifield and many more.
Notables of this surname at this time include:
Thousands of English families boarded ships sailing to the New World in the hope of escaping the unrest found in England at this time. Although the search for opportunity and freedom from persecution abroad took the lives of many because of the cramped conditions and unsanitary nature of the vessels, the opportunity perceived in the growing colonies of North America beckoned. Many of the settlers who survived the journey went on to make important contributions to the transplanted cultures of their adopted countries. The Bifield were among these contributors, for they have been located in early North American records: Robert Byfield who arrived in America in 1766.