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The origins of the Hartfield name lie with England's ancient Anglo-Saxon culture. It comes from when the family lived in either of the places called Heathfield in Somerset or Sussex, or in one of the various settlements called Hatfield in Essex, Herefordshire, Nottinghamshire, Worcester, the East Riding of Yorkshire, or the North Riding of Yorkshire.
The place name literally means "heathy open land, or open land where heather grows," from the Old English "haeth" + "feld." The earliest village or parish with the name was registered in Saxon times in South Yorkshire in 731 when it was known as Haethfelth. 1
One source claims the name was derived from "hat, hot, Saxon, and field-from the hot sandy soil" 2 and yet another claims the name was derived from the "Anglo-Saxon Hæðfeld = the Heath-Field." 3
Another source claims the name was derived from the Old English "heathland, heather + feld" (pasture, open country) 4
The surname Hartfield was first found in Colchester, Essex where William de Hatfield was listed there 1119-1127. 5 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 list William de Hatfield in Essex and Agnes de Hatfield in Cambridgeshire at that time. Years later, Johannes de Haytefeld was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. 6
Robert de Hattefeld was listed in the Feet of Fines for Yorkshire in 1343 and Thomas Hatfeld was listed in the Assize Rolls of London in 1412. 5
Thomas of Hatfield (d. 1381), was Bishop of Durham, and thought to have been the second son of Walter of Hatfield in Holderness. He seems to have entered the king's service at an early age, and was Keeper of the Privy Seal in 1343. 7
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hartfield research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1119, 1640 and 1652 are included under the topic Early Hartfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Hartfield were recorded, including Hatfield, Hatfeild, Hadfield and others.
Notables of this surname at this time include: Martha Hatfield (fl. 1652), 'The Wise Virgin,' daughter of Anthony Hatfield, by his wife Faith Westley, was born at Leighton, Yorkshire, 27 Sept. 1640. "The Hatfields were Puritans. In April 1652 Martha was seized with an illness which the physicians were unable to define, but which seems to have been a form of catalepsy. For seventeen days she lay stiff and was unable to speak, and it was said...
Another 76 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hartfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Hartfield is the 6,489th most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 8
To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Hartfield family emigrate to North America: