Find out how popular the last name Canfield is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Canfield.

Canfield, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Canfield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Canfield in America

Canfield is the 3117th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Canfield surname appeared 11,560 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Canfield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Canfield to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Canfield

The surname Canfield originated in England and has its roots in the Old English words "canu" meaning "cane" or "reed" and "feld" meaning "field." This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in a field of reeds or canes.

The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 12th century in various counties across England, including Essex, Hertfordshire, and Warwickshire. It was initially spelled in various ways, such as Canenfeld, Canunfeld, and Canefelde.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William de Canefelde, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Hertfordshire in 1166. Another notable early record is that of Robert de Canfeld, who was listed in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1272.

The Canfield surname is also associated with several place names across England, including Canfield in Essex and Canfield in Derbyshire. These locations likely derived their names from the Old English words that formed the basis of the surname.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Canfield. One such individual was Benedict Canfield (1562-1611), an English Catholic priest and martyr who was executed during the reign of King James I for his religious beliefs.

Another prominent Canfield was Cuthbert Canfield (1619-1689), an English mathematician and clergyman who served as the Rector of the Church of St. Martin's in Hereford. He is known for his work on logarithms and his contributions to the field of mathematics.

In the United States, the Canfield family trace their roots back to Thomas Canfield (1601-1668), who immigrated from England to Milford, Connecticut in the 1630s. His descendants went on to settle in various parts of the country, including New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.

One notable American Canfield was Arthur Graves Canfield (1859-1920), a lawyer and philanthropist from Ohio. He served as the President of the Ohio State University Board of Trustees and was instrumental in the establishment of the Canfield Training School for Children, a pioneering institution in the field of special education.

Another Canfield of note was Pauline Canfield (1867-1924), an American author and poet who wrote several works of fiction and non-fiction, including the novel The Custody of the Child and the poetry collection The Bride of the Mistletoe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Canfield

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Canfield.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Canfield was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Canfield has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Canfield was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Canfield, please contact us.

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