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?

Hundreds of years ago, the Gaelic name used by the Field family in Ireland was "Mac Fithcheallaigh," from the word "fithcheallach," referring to a chess player.

Early Origins of the Field family

The surname Field was first found in counties Donegal and Derry, where they held a family seat from very ancient times.

Early History of the Field family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Field research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1516, 1548, 1555, 1559, 1567 and 1626 are included under the topic Early Field History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Field Spelling Variations

Pronunciation, rather than spelling, guided scribes and church officials when recording names during the Middle Ages. This practice often resulted in one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Field are preserved in these old documents. The various spellings of the name that were found include Feeley, Fealy, Feally, Feely, Fehilly, Fehley, Feley, O'Feeley, O'Feely and many more.

Early Notables of the Field family

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

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. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Field is ranked the 560th most popular surname with an estimated 81 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Field is the 348th popular surname with an estimated 10,432 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Field as 287th with 2,105 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Field as 320th with 19,234 people. 5

Field migration to the United States +

A massive amount of Ireland's native population left the island in the 19th century for North America and Australia in hopes of finding more opportunities and an escape from discrimination and oppression. A great portion of these migrants arrived on the eastern shores of the North American continent. Although they were generally poor and destitute, and, therefore, again discriminated against, these Irish people were heartily welcomed for the hard labor involved in the construction of railroads, canals, roadways, and buildings. Many others were put to work in the newly established factories or agricultural projects that were so essential to the development of what would become two of the wealthiest nations in the world. The Great Potato Famine during the late 1840s initiated the largest wave of Iris immigration. Early North American immigration and passenger lists have revealed a number of people bearing 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 7
  • Mr. James Field, aged 20, who arrived in Virginia in 1624 aboard the ship "Swan" 8
  • Zechariah Field, who arrived in Dorchester, Massachusetts in 1629 7
  • Robert Field, from Hampshire, who landed in New England on the ship "James", bound for Boston, Massachusetts in 1635 7
  • ... (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 7
  • Ella Field, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1746 7
  • Malaky Field, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1764 7
  • Oliver Field, who arrived in New York in 1798 7
Field Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Field, who arrived in America in 1801 7
  • Samuel Field, who arrived in America in 1804 7
  • Peter Field, who landed in America in 1809 7
  • Isaac D Field, aged 31, who arrived in New York in 1812 7
  • Sally Field, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1813 7
  • ... (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 9
  • Mrs. Rebecca Field U.E. who settled in Home District [York County], Ontario c. 1784 9
  • 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 9
  • ... (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 7
  • 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 7
Following the Second and Third Fleets, other convicts and early settlers arriving in Australia include:

Field Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

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 14
  • 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. 15
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 16

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 17
  • Mr. Donald Field, British Stoker 2nd Class, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 18
  • 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 19
  • 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 20
  • ... (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. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)
  3. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  4. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  5. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  6. Convict Records of Australia. Retrieved 4th February 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships
  7. 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)
  8. Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  9. 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
  10. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel-and-experiment
  11. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au
  12. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dromedary
  13. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 24th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/england
  14. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  15. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  16. Pilgrim Ship Lists Early 1600's retrieved 29th September 2021. Retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
  17. 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
  18. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html
  19. Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 10) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/
  20. Universal Colliery Senghenydd 1913 disaster retrieved 21st September 2019, retrieved from http://www.welshcoalmines.co.uk/deathrolls/SenghenyddDead1913.htm

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