The name Ditchfield is part of the ancient legacy of the
Anglo-Saxon tribes of Britain. It is a product of when the family lived in Ditchfield, a hamlet in the county of Lacashire. The
local name is derived from the Old English word
dic which means
ditch and
feld, which literally means a field that had been cleared of trees. Therefore the surname Ditchfield denotes someone who lived by the field and the ditch.
Early Origins of the Ditchfield family
The surname Ditchfield was first found in
Lancashire where they held a
family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the
Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.
Early History of the Ditchfield family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ditchfield research.
Another 115 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1695, 1733, 1735 and 1798 are included under the topic Early Ditchfield History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Ditchfield Spelling Variations
The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few
hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time,
spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Ditchfield has been spelled many different ways, including Dichfield, Dickfield, Ditchfield and others.
Early Notables of the Ditchfield family (pre 1700)
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Ditchfield Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Ditchfield family to the New World and Oceana
Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Ditchfields to arrive in North America:
Ditchfield Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Joe Ditchfield, who settled in St. Christopher in 1635
- Jo Ditchfield, aged 22, who arrived in St Christopher in 1635 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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) - Thomas Ditchfield, who landed in Maryland in 1673 [1]CITATION[CLOSE]
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)
Ditchfield Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
- James Ditchfield, aged 30, who arrived in New York in 1919 aboard the ship "Vennonia" from London, England [2]CITATION[CLOSE]
"New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J674-93K : 6 December 2014), James Ditchfield, 26 Apr 1919; citing departure port London, arrival port New York, ship name Vennonia, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). - Horace Leonard Ditchfield, aged 24, originally from Ilford, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Mauretania" from Southampton, England [3]CITATION[CLOSE]
"New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6ZW-LJH : 6 December 2014), Horace Leonard Ditchfield, 25 Sep 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Mauretania, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). - Mary Jane Ditchfield, aged 55, originally from Smethwick, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England [4]CITATION[CLOSE]
"New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6XN-M57 : 6 December 2014), Mary Jane Ditchfield, 24 Nov 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Olympic, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). - Florence Ditchfield, aged 17, originally from Smethwick, England, who arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England [5]CITATION[CLOSE]
"New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6XN-MTL : 6 December 2014), Florence Ditchfield, 24 Nov 1920; citing departure port Southampton, arrival port New York, ship name Olympic, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). - Peter Ditchfield, aged 66, originally from New Bedford, who arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Albania" from Liverpool, England [6]CITATION[CLOSE]
"New York Passenger Arrival Lists (Ellis Island), 1892-1924," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J6L8-TTY : 6 December 2014), Peter Ditchfield, 17 Sep 1921; citing departure port Liverpool, arrival port New York, ship name Albania, NARA microfilm publication T715 and M237 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). - ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Contemporary Notables of the name Ditchfield (post 1700)
- Rev. Peter Hempson Ditchfield FSA (1854-1930), English Anglican priest and author, best known for co-edited three Berkshire volumes of the Victoria County History
- John Edwin Watts- Ditchfield (1861-1923), English Anglican priest and distinguished author, Bishop of Chelmsford (1914–1923)
- James H. "Jimmy" Ditchfield (1865-1933), English footballer who played for Burslem Port Vale from 1886 and 1896
- Andy Ditchfield, English founder of English rock band DeeExpus
- William Ditchfield (1903-1991), New Zealand cricketer who played one first-class match for Otago in the 1933 season