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

Dunfield, 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 Dunfield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Dunfield in America

Dunfield is the 75799th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Dunfield surname appeared 254 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Dunfield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Dunfield 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 Dunfield

The surname Dunfield is believed to have originated in the northern regions of England, particularly in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "dun" meaning hill or down, and "feld" meaning field or open land. Therefore, Dunfield may have initially referred to someone who lived near or owned land on a hill or down.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dunfield can be found in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns of 1379, where a John de Dunfeld is listed. This suggests that the name was already in use by the late 14th century. Additionally, the Domesday Book of 1086 mentions several place names containing the elements "dun" and "feld," further supporting the potential origins of the surname.

In the 16th century, a notable individual named William Dunfield (c. 1520-1590) was a Protestant clergyman and author from Yorkshire. He wrote several religious works and was known for his strong opposition to Catholic teachings.

Fast forward to the 17th century, and we find Robert Dunfield (1625-1683), a successful merchant and landowner from Lancashire. Historical records indicate that he owned considerable property in the area and was a respected figure in his community.

Moving into the 18th century, the name Dunfield appeared in the writings of the English poet and playwright, John Dryden (1631-1700). In his works, he mentioned a character named "Dunfield," though it is unclear if this was a real person or a fictional character.

Another prominent individual with the surname Dunfield was Sir Edward Dunfield (1788-1867), a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars. He rose through the ranks and was eventually knighted for his distinguished service.

In the 19th century, the name Dunfield gained some notoriety with the exploits of William Dunfield (1825-1892), a notorious Australian bushranger and outlaw. He was known for his daring robberies and earned a place in the history of Australian bushrangers.

It is worth noting that variations of the name Dunfield, such as Dunnfield and Dunfielde, were also common throughout history. Additionally, the name may have been influenced by or derived from similar place names like Dunfieldhill or Dunfield Green, which were located in various parts of England.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Dunfield

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!