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

Menifield, 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 Menifield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menifield in America

Menifield is the 107134th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menifield surname appeared 166 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 Menifield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menifield 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 Menifield

The surname Menifield is believed to have originated from England during the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "mene," meaning "common" or "public," and "feld," meaning "field" or "open land." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived or worked on a communal field or area of shared land.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Feet of Fines for Essex, a medieval legal record, from the year 1300. This document mentions a person named John Menefelde, indicating the surname's existence in that region during the 13th or 14th century.

In the 15th century, the surname appeared in various forms, such as Menyfeld and Menefeilde, reflecting the lack of standardized spelling at the time. One notable individual was Richard Menyfeld, a merchant from London who is mentioned in records from the year 1468.

During the 16th century, the name continued to be found in various parts of England, with variations like Menefeld and Menefield. One example is William Menefeld, a landowner from Oxfordshire, who was born around 1510.

In the 17th century, the surname Menifield began to take its modern spelling more consistently. One notable bearer was John Menifield, a soldier who fought in the English Civil War and was born in 1620 in Leicestershire.

Another prominent figure was Sir Thomas Menifield (1640-1718), a wealthy landowner and politician who served as a member of Parliament for Gloucestershire in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Over the centuries, the surname Menifield has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Menifield Green in Shropshire and Menifield Farm in Oxfordshire, further reinforcing its connection to rural areas and land ownership.

While the surname Menifield is not among the most common in English-speaking countries today, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and reflects the agricultural and rural roots of many English surnames.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menifield

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

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

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

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