FIELD

Field is a surname of English origin, found throughout the British Isles. It derives from the Old English word feld, which denoted an open expanse of land or a pasture. In a rural context the name was employed to identify an individual who lived upon or worked within such a field, or who possessed land in a pastoral setting. Consequently the name has occupational and topographical connotations, signalling a person’s connection with agricultural life.

The name assumes several spellings that have been recorded in documentary evidence. These range from Feild and Feld to more elaborate forms such as Delafield, Veld, Van den Velde and Feldmann. Ornamental variants including Feldblum and Fieldstone are also attested, reflecting the tendency to combine the base with descriptive elements.

Evidently the surname has cognates in both English and German contexts. Early references include Robert de Felde in the 1185 register of Knights Templars in Gloucestershire, during the reign of King Henry XI, and Hugo de la Felde recorded in the 1188 Bedfordshire Pipe Rolls. German examples appear as early as 1216 with Petrus im dem Velde of Mengen, and again in 1576 in the name of Franz van de Velde, bishop of Herzogbusch.

In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries further instances are documented in England. Margarett Feilde married at the church of St. Martin Orgar, London, in 1586, and James Feild was among the first settlers to the Virginia colony, arriving aboard the ship Swan of London in 1624. These records illustrate the surname’s continued presence in clerical, civic, and migratory documents.

Today, the surname Field remains common in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, a testament to the enduring legacy of its simple yet evocative meaning. Its historical breadth, spanning medieval records in both England and Germany, and its persistence through centuries of social change, attest to the continuity of families whose identities were forged upon the open country of their earliest homes.

Typical given names associated with the Field surname

Male

• Andrew
• Christopher
• David
• James
• John
• Michael
• Paul
• Peter
• Richard
• Robert

Female

• Christine
• Elizabeth
• Emma
• Julie
• Karen
• Margaret
• Mary
• Patricia
• Rebecca
• Sarah
• Susan

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Field in...

Braille

⠋⠊⠑⠇⠙

Morse

..-.....-..-..

Semaphore

Did you know?

According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Field are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Chocolate Hobnob.

Surname type: Location or geographical feature

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Field

• Sally Field - American actress
• Frank Field - Politician
• Mark Field - Politician
• Shirley Anne Field - Actress
• Virginia Field - Actress (1917 to 1992)
• Sam Field - Football player
• Frank Field - Cricketer (1908 to 1981)
• Winston Field - Rhodesian Prime Minister (1904 to 1969)
• Roger C. Field - Inventor and musician
• Sid Field - Comedian (1904 to 1950)
• Tony Field - Football player
• Andy Field - Academic
• Tom Field - Irish football player
• Bill Field - Politician (1909 to 2002)
• Tim Field - Academic (1952 to 2006)
• John Field - Ballet dancer and choreographer (1921 to 1991)
• Alexander Field - Actor (1892 to 1971)
• Ian Field - Cyclo-cross cyclist
• Steve Field - Doctor
• Ernie Field - Boxer and rugby league football player (1943 to 2013)

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

Your comments on the Field surname