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

Sheffield, 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 Sheffield surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sheffield in America

Sheffield is the 1817th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sheffield surname appeared 19,738 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Sheffield.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sheffield 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 Sheffield

The surname Sheffield is of English origin and can be traced back to the early Middle Ages. It is a territorial name derived from the city of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. The name is thought to have originated from the Old English words "sceaf" meaning boundary or ridge, and "feld" meaning field or clearing.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Sheffield can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Scafeld" and "Sidefelde." This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region by the late 11th century.

During the medieval period, several individuals with the surname Sheffield can be found in historical records. One notable example is Sir Robert Sheffield, who fought alongside King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy in 1346 during the Hundred Years' War.

In the 15th century, Edmund Sheffield (c. 1415-1487) served as Lord Lieutenant of Yorkshire and was a prominent figure in the Wars of the Roses. His descendants would later become members of the English nobility, with the title of Duke of Buckingham and Normanby.

Another notable figure was John Sheffield, 3rd Earl of Mulgrave (1648-1722), who was a prominent English statesman and poet. He served as Lord Privy Seal and Lord President of the Council under King William III and Queen Anne.

In the 18th century, John Baker Holroyd (1735-1821), who later took the surname Sheffield after inheriting his uncle's estates, was a renowned writer and literary critic. He is best known for his work "Observations on the Resurrection" and his close friendship with Samuel Johnson.

During the 19th century, Sir Robert Sheffield, 1st Baronet (1804-1888) was an English industrialist and politician who was involved in the development of the Sheffield steel industry and served as a Member of Parliament.

While the surname Sheffield is primarily associated with England, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, and Australia, due to migration and intermarriage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sheffield

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!