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

Chatfield, 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 Chatfield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chatfield in America

Chatfield is the 10498th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chatfield surname appeared 3,057 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Chatfield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chatfield 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 Chatfield

The surname CHATFIELD originated from the Old English words "ceat" meaning cottager or low-class freeman, and "feld" meaning field or clearing. It was an occupational name that referred to someone who lived in a cottage on a field or clearing in the countryside.

The name is believed to have first appeared in the county of Cheshire, England, during the Anglo-Saxon period, sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. Early variations of the spelling included Ceatfeld, Chetfeld, and Chetfeild.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name CHATFIELD can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name was listed as "Ceatfeld" in the county of Cheshire.

In the 13th century, a John de Chetfeld was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230. The Pipe Rolls were a series of financial records maintained by the English Exchequer.

During the 14th century, the surname CHATFIELD began to spread beyond Cheshire to other parts of England, such as Oxfordshire and Staffordshire. In the Staffordshire Assize Rolls of 1349, a Richard de Chetfeild was mentioned.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname CHATFIELD was Sir Robert Chatfield (c. 1440 - 1506), a English landowner and member of Parliament for Bedfordshire during the reigns of Edward IV and Henry VII.

In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname CHATFIELD was William Chatfield (c. 1530 - 1599), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Gloucester from 1589 until his death.

Another prominent individual with the surname was Sir Henry Chatfield (1618 - 1692), an English lawyer and politician who served as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1685 to 1692.

In the 18th century, John Chatfield (1725 - 1797) was an English antiquarian and writer who authored several works on the history and topography of Hertfordshire.

During the 19th century, Admiral Alfred John Chatfield (1847 - 1918) was a notable British naval officer who served as the Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel from 1911 to 1914.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chatfield

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

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 Chatfield 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 Chatfield 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 Chatfield was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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