2000
#1,780
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.86
Uncommon Last name
Mansfield
An English locational surname derived from places meaning "open land where crops are grown" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,550 Americans carry the last name Mansfield. That puts it at #1,967 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,679 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mansfield 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 Mansfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,679
Census rank
#1,967
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,921 bearers of the surname Mansfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1967th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mansfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mansfield
The surname MANSFIELD has its origins in England and traces back to the early medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the place name "Mansfield" in Nottinghamshire, which itself comes from the Old English words "mann" meaning a man or servant, and "feld" meaning an open field or clearing. The earliest recorded spelling of the place name was "Mamesfeld" in the Domesday Book of 1086.
The name MANSFIELD first appeared in records and historical documents around the 12th century, with one of the earliest known bearers being Robert de Mannesfeld, who was listed in the Pipe Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1176. In the 13th century, the name was also recorded as Maunsfeld, Manesfeld, and Maunnesfeld.
A notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Mansfield, who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 1376 to 1387 during the reign of King Richard II. Another prominent figure was Sir Robert Mansfield, who was knighted in 1603 and served as Lord Mayor of London in 1616-1617.
In the 17th century, the name was also associated with the Mansfield family of Scone Palace in Scotland. One of the most famous members of this family was William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield (1705-1793), who served as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1756 to 1788 and was a prominent legal scholar and politician.
Other notable individuals with the surname MANSFIELD include the English writer Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923), known for her modernist short stories, and the American actors Jayne Mansfield (1933-1967) and Michael Mansfield (born 1950).
The name MANSFIELD has also been used as a place name in various parts of the world, particularly in the United States and Canada, reflecting the influence of English settlers and the spread of the name through migration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mansfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Mansfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mansfield 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 Mansfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 14,965
- Black or African American6.9% · 1,237
- Hispanic or Latino4.2% · 755
- Two or more races3.9% · 701
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 144
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 119
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mansfield
Mansfield 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
#1,923
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,725
+227 bearers (+1.2%)
Per 100,000 6.35
Rank movement Down 143 places
2020
#1,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,921
-804 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 6.00
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,780 | 18,498 | 6.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,923 | 18,725 | 6.35 | +227 bearers (+1.2%) | Down 143 places |
| 2020 | #1,967 | 17,921 | 6.00 | -804 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 44 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 Mansfield 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 | #1,923 | #1,967 | -2.3% |
| Count | 18,725 | 17,921 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.35 | 6.00 | -5.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mansfield bearers went from 18,725 to 17,921 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,923 to #1,967.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Mansfield
FAQ
Mansfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mansfield?
Name Census estimates that about 20,550 living Americans carry the surname Mansfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,679 residents.
How common is Mansfield?
Mansfield ranks #1,967 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,921 people with the surname Mansfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,550), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Mansfield.
Has Mansfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mansfield went from 18,725 recorded bearers to 17,921. That is a decrease of 804 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,923 to #1,967.
What does the Census say about the background of Mansfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mansfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Mansfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (14,965 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mansfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Black (6.9%), Hispanic (4.2%). 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 Mansfield (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 Mansfield mean?
An English locational surname derived from places meaning "open land where crops are grown" in Old English. 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 Mansfield (6.00 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 people are called Mansfield?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Mansfield at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.