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

Oldfield, 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 Oldfield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Oldfield in America

Oldfield is the 11226th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Oldfield surname appeared 2,816 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Oldfield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Oldfield 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 Oldfield

The surname Oldfield is of English origin, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from various places called 'Oldfield' or 'Old Field' scattered across England. These place names refer to an area of cultivated land that had long been cleared and farmed.

The earliest known record of the Oldfield surname appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1273, where it is spelled 'Oldefeld'. Other early spellings include 'Auldfelde' and 'Oldefeylde'. These variations reflect the name's pronunciation and the lack of standardized spelling at the time.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, there are several entries for places with similar names, such as 'Aldefelde' in Cheshire and 'Oldefelde' in Warwickshire. These may have been the original locations that gave rise to the Oldfield surname.

Historically, the Oldfield name has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was Sir John Oldfield (c. 1430-1508), a member of the English gentry from Worcestershire. Another was John Oldfield (1610-1636), an English mathematician and astronomer who worked with renowned figures like Thomas Harriot and William Oughtred.

In the arts, Mary Oldfield (c. 1675-1730) was a celebrated English actress and mistress of King George II. Later, Anne Oldfield (1790-1868) was a British author and philanthropist who wrote several books on religious and moral themes.

Thomas Oldfield (1804-1863) was a notable English architect who designed numerous churches and public buildings in his native Manchester and surrounding areas. Meanwhile, Edmund Oldfield (1858-1938) was a renowned British ornithologist and naturalist, known for his work on bird migration.

The Oldfield surname has been present throughout the centuries, with bearers hailing from various parts of England. While locational in origin, it has since spread across the English-speaking world, reflecting the migrations and histories of those who carried this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Oldfield

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

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

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

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