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

Menefield, 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 Menefield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menefield in America

Menefield is the 69392nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menefield surname appeared 283 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 Menefield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menefield 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 Menefield

The surname MENEFIELD is of English origin, originating in the early medieval period around the 12th century. It is derived from the Old English words "mene" meaning "common" and "feld" meaning "field" or "open land". This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived or worked on a common field or area of shared land.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in various historical documents and records from the 13th and 14th centuries, such as the Hundred Rolls of 1273 and the Pipe Rolls of 1301, which mention individuals with the surname spelled as "Menefield" or similar variations like "Menefelde" or "Menefeld".

One notable historical reference to the name is in the Domesday Book of 1086, which contains an entry for a landowner named Willelmus de Menefelde, who held lands in the county of Oxfordshire. This is one of the earliest known records of the surname and suggests that it may have originated as a locational name referring to a specific place.

In the 14th century, the name MENEFIELD appeared in various legal and administrative records, such as the Court Rolls of the Manor of Wakefield in Yorkshire, which mention a Thomas Menefield in 1348. Another early example is John Menefield, who was recorded as a resident of the parish of St. Giles in Cripplegate, London, in the 1381 Poll Tax returns.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals bearing the surname MENEFIELD. One such person was Sir John Menefield (c. 1410-1478), a prominent English landowner and member of the gentry from Staffordshire, who served as a Justice of the Peace and represented the county in Parliament. Another was William Menefield (c. 1520-1589), a wealthy merchant and alderman of the City of London during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records and legal documents, such as the will of Thomas Menefield, a yeoman from the village of Weston in Hertfordshire, dated 1638. Another noteworthy individual was Richard Menefield (c. 1625-1695), a Puritan clergyman and author from Oxfordshire, who wrote several religious treatises and served as the vicar of St. Mary's Church in Banbury.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname MENEFIELD continued to be found throughout various parts of England, with concentrations in counties like Staffordshire, Oxfordshire, and Yorkshire. Notable bearers of the name from this period include John Menefield (1745-1815), a prominent landowner and magistrate in Staffordshire, and William Menefield (1789-1867), a successful industrialist and factory owner in the textile town of Huddersfield, Yorkshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menefield

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

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

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

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