2000
#264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103,242
First available Census row
Per 100,000 38.27
Common Last name
Fields
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived or worked on land cleared of forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118,335 Americans carry the last name Fields. That puts it at #298 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 34.52 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,896 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fields 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 Fields with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
118K
1 in 2,896
Census rank
#298
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
34.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103,194 bearers of the surname Fields in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 34.52 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 298th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fields, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fields
The surname Fields originated in England. It is a topographic surname that refers to a person who lived near an open field or clearing in a wooded area. The name likely developed around the 11th century and is derived from the Old English word "feld," meaning an open space or pasture.
The surname can be found in early records, such as the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "de la Felde." This early spelling reflects the French Norman influence on English names following the Norman Conquest of 1066.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname is William del Feld, who is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1195. Another early record is that of John atte Felde, found in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
The Fields surname is also connected to various place names in England, such as Field Town in Shropshire and Field Dalling in Norfolk. These place names likely originated from the Old English words "feld" and "dæl," meaning a field or valley.
Notable individuals with the surname Fields include the following:
1. Walter Fields (c. 1535-1616), an English Puritan minister and one of the first settlers in the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
2. Nathaniel Fields (1587-1633), an English playwright and actor during the Jacobean era.
3. Mary Fields (c. 1832-1914), an African-American woman who worked as a mail carrier and stagecoach driver in the American West, known as "Stagecoach Mary."
4. W.C. Fields (1880-1946), an American comedian, actor, and writer, best known for his comic persona as a misanthropic and hard-drinking con man.
5. Artur Fielding (1905-1991), a Polish-born British actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the mid-20th century.
The surname Fields continues to be widespread in English-speaking countries, particularly in the United States and the United Kingdom, reflecting its long history and origins in the English language and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fields
Among Census respondents with the surname Fields, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Fields 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 Fields surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.1% · 56,845
- Black or African American34.8% · 35,961
- Two or more races5.1% · 5,280
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 3,382
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 1,190
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 536
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fields
Fields 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
#288
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107,522
+4,280 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 36.45
Rank movement Down 24 places
2020
#298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103,194
-4,328 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 34.52
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #264 | 103,242 | 38.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #288 | 107,522 | 36.45 | +4,280 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 24 places |
| 2020 | #298 | 103,194 | 34.52 | -4,328 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 10 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 Fields 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 | #288 | #298 | -3.5% |
| Count | 107,522 | 103,194 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 36.45 | 34.52 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fields bearers went from 107,522 to 103,194 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #288 to #298.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Fields
FAQ
Fields surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fields?
Name Census estimates that about 118,335 living Americans carry the surname Fields. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,896 residents.
How common is Fields?
Fields ranks #298 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 34.52 per 100,000 residents, which is about 35 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103,194 people with the surname Fields. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118,335), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 34.52 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 34.52 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 35 of them to have the surname Fields.
Has Fields become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fields went from 107,522 recorded bearers to 103,194. That is a decrease of 4,328 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #288 to #298.
What does the Census say about the background of Fields?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fields, the largest self-reported group is White at 55.1%. The next largest groups are Black (34.8%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Fields in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.1% (56,845 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fields appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (55.1%), Black (34.8%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Fields (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 Fields mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived or worked on land cleared of forest. 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 Fields (34.52 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 common is the surname Fields?
See how many Americans have the surname Fields on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.