SCHOFIELD
The surname Schofield is of English origin, being a locational name that refers to a place of shelter or shed situated within a field. It derives from the Old English words sceo or schole, meaning “shelter” or “hut, shed”, and feld, meaning “field” or “pasturage”.
As a locational surname, Schofield would have been adopted by people who had moved away from the original settlement and were identified by the site of their former residence. The name therefore indicates that its earliest bearers lived nearest to or worked in a shelter or shed within a pasture.
The earliest surviving written example of the surname is that of John de Scholefeld, recorded in 1343 in the Chartulary of Whalley Abbey, Lancashire, during the reign of King Edward the First. This evidence places the name securely in the Northern English countryside of the fourteenth century.
The name is associated with a now-lost medieval village, which most scholars locate in the county palatine of Lancashire. However, the surname’s notable presence in Yorkshire suggests that a similar or the same place may have existed there as well, the village itself now being lost to history.
Further evidence of the name’s antiquity is found in early church registers of the Diocese of Greater London. Ann Schofield was christened at St. Lawrence Jewry on 23 April 1572, and another Ann Schofield married Samuel Rowland at St. Marylebone on 4 December 1769. These entries confirm that the name was in use in the capital by the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
One of the most prominent bearers of a related spelling, William Scholefield (1809–1867), served as the first mayor of the newly founded city of Birmingham in 1838 and was a radical Member of Parliament for Birmingham from 1847 until his death in 1867. He is recorded in the Dictionary of National Biography, underscoring the surname’s reach beyond the North.
Variations of the spelling have emerged over time, including Scholefield, Scholes, and plainly Schofield itself. These differences arise from both the absence of standardised spelling in medieval records and the influence of local dialects and accents on pronunciation.
Today, the surname remains principally concentrated in Northern England, particularly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, where it retains its historical association with the pastoral landscape. Its persistence in these regions reflects both the enduring habit of using locational surnames in the area and the continuity of family lines that trace back to the medieval period.
Typical given names associated with the Schofield surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Christine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Janet
- Julie
- Margaret
- Mary
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
- Scofield
- Schoefield
- Scoffield
- Chofield
- Schofeild
- Schoffield
- Schoffeld
- Scohfield
- Shcofield
- Schoefeld
- Scofild
- Schefield
- Schofiled
- Sackfield
- Saffield
- Sayfield
- Scaffold
- Schafield
- Schfield
- Schifield
- Schofied
- Schofields
- Schofild
- Schofill
- Scholefield
- Scholfield
- Scholifield
- Schonfeld
- Schonfield
- Schoofield
- Schoufield
- Scoefield
- Scofeild
- Scowfield
- Scuffield
- Seafield
- Seefield
- Seifield
- Shoffield
- Shofield
- Sofield
- Swoffield
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Schofield in...
Braille
⠎⠉⠓⠕⠋⠊⠑⠇⠙
Morse
...-.-.....---..-.....-..-..
Semaphore
Did you know?
According to a survey carried out by Democracy Club, politicians and candidates with the surname Schofield are most likely to say that their favourite biscuit is a Chocolate Hobnob.
There are approximately 20,652 people named Schofield in the UK. That makes it the 422nd most common surname in Britain. Around 317 in a million people in Britain are named Schofield.
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 Schofield
- Phillip Schofield - Broadcaster and television personality
- Admiral Schofield - American basketball player
- Leslie Schofield - Actor
- Andrew Schofield - Actor
- Ryan Schofield - Football player
- Matt Schofield - Blues guitarist and singer
- Christopher J. Schofield - Chemist
- John Schofield - Football player and manager
- Chris Schofield - Cricketer
- Garry Schofield - Rugby league football player and coach
- Harry Norton Schofield - Recipient of the Victoria Cross (1865 to 1931)
- Malcolm Schofield - Classical scholar
- Johnny Schofield - Football player and manager (1931 to 2006)
- Michael Schofield - LGBT rights activist (1919 to 2014)
- Sidney Schofield - Politician (1911 to 1992)
- Dean Schofield - Rugby union player
- David Schofield - Football player
- Hugh Schofield - Television journalist
- Norman Schofield - Political scientist (1944 to 2019)
- Steve Schofield -
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.