Warfield
A masculine name of English origin signifying a field for military exercises.
Name Census estimates that about 6 living Americans carry the first name Warfield. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Warfield today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Warfield births was 1917 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Warfield. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Warfield is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Warfields were born before 1964.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Warfield. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
6
~ 1 in 57,125,723 Americans
Peak year
1917
8 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1957 SSA rank
#4,538
Tracked since 1917
Popularity
Warfield: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Warfield from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 14 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Warfield remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Warfield by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Warfield during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Warfields live
Origin
Meaning and history of Warfield
The name Warfield is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "waer" meaning "enclosure" or "homestead" and "feld" meaning "field" or "open land." This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near an enclosed field or a homestead surrounded by open fields.
The earliest recorded use of the name Warfield dates back to the 11th century in England. One of the first known bearers of the name was Robert de Warfield, a landowner who lived in Warwickshire, England, in the late 11th century. The name Warfield was likely an occupational name or a descriptive name referring to the location of the individual's residence or land holdings.
In the 13th century, the name Warfield appeared in various historical records, including the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, which listed several individuals with the surname Warfield. During this period, the name was primarily used as a surname, but it is believed that it may have also been used as a given name occasionally.
One notable historical figure with the name Warfield was Sir Henry Warfield (c. 1450-1520), an English knight and landowner who served as a member of the Privy Council under King Henry VIII. He was known for his involvement in the dissolution of the monasteries and the acquisition of monastic lands during the English Reformation.
In the 17th century, the name Warfield gained more prominence as a given name. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the first name Warfield was Warfield Westover (1594-1662), an English colonist who settled in Virginia in the early 1600s and became a prominent figure in the Virginia Colony.
Another notable bearer of the name Warfield was Warfield Taliaferro (1685-1761), a Virginia planter and politician who served as a member of the House of Burgesses and was involved in the creation of several new counties in Virginia.
In the 19th century, the name Warfield continued to be used, particularly in the United States. One prominent individual with this name was Warfield Woodruff (1808-1879), a Methodist minister and educator who served as the first president of Emory College (now Emory University) in Georgia.
Another notable figure was Warfield Idris Bascom (1838-1918), an American educator and author who served as the president of Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle and was instrumental in promoting adult education and the Chautauqua movement.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and diverse backgrounds of individuals who have borne the name Warfield throughout the centuries, highlighting its English origins and its use as both a given name and a surname.
People
Warfield + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Warfield as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with W
Other first names starting with W with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Warfield: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Warfield?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 6 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Warfield going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 57,125,723 US residents.
Is Warfield a common name?
We classify Warfield as "Very Rare". It ranks above 22.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Warfield most popular?
The single biggest year for Warfield was 1917, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Warfield is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Warfield a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Warfield in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.