2000
#10,084
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,947
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Chatfield
From an English place name meaning "field of chattering birds" or "field of jackdaws."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,393 Americans carry the last name Chatfield. That puts it at #10,349 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 101,018 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chatfield surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Chatfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.4K
1 in 101,018
Census rank
#10,349
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,959 bearers of the surname Chatfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10349th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chatfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chatfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Chatfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Chatfield bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Chatfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 2,286
- Black or African American12.1% · 359
- Two or more races5.4% · 161
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 26
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chatfield
Chatfield appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,498
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,057
+110 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.04
Rank movement Down 414 places
2020
#10,349
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,959
-98 bearers (-3.2%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Up 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,084 | 2,947 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,498 | 3,057 | 1.04 | +110 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 414 places |
| 2020 | #10,349 | 2,959 | 0.99 | -98 bearers (-3.2%) | Up 149 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Chatfield surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,498 | #10,349 | 1.4% |
| Count | 3,057 | 2,959 | -3.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.04 | 0.99 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chatfield bearers went from 3,057 to 2,959 (-3.2% change). The surname moved up 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,498 to #10,349.
FAQ
Chatfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chatfield?
Name Census estimates that about 3,393 living Americans carry the surname Chatfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 101,018 residents.
How common is Chatfield?
Chatfield ranks #10,349 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.99 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,959 people with the surname Chatfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,393), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.99 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.99 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Chatfield.
Has Chatfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chatfield went from 3,057 recorded bearers to 2,959. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,498 to #10,349.
What does the Census say about the background of Chatfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chatfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.1%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Chatfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (2,286 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chatfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.3%), Black (12.1%), Two or More Races (5.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Chatfield (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Chatfield mean?
From an English place name meaning "field of chattering birds" or "field of jackdaws." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Chatfield (0.99 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Chatfield?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.