2000
#8,818
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,421
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.27
Rare Last name
Springfield
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a spring or a field with a spring.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,944 Americans carry the last name Springfield. That puts it at #9,126 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,905 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Springfield 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 Springfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.9K
1 in 86,905
Census rank
#9,126
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,439 bearers of the surname Springfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9126th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Springfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Springfield
The surname Springfield is of English origin, deriving from the Old English words "spring" and "feld," meaning a field or meadow where a spring or stream is located. It is a locational surname, indicating that the earliest bearers of the name lived near such a field or meadow.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century, with mentions in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire and the Feet of Fines for Essex in the late 1200s. These records often spelled the name in various ways, such as Springfeld, Spryngfeld, or Springfild.
During the Middle Ages, the Springfield surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Warwickshire, Staffordshire, and Worcestershire, where several places shared similar names, such as Springfield near Wolverhampton and Springfield near Kidderminster.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was John de Springfeld, who was listed in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273. Another early record is that of Richard de Spryngfeld, mentioned in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire in 1332.
Historically, the Springfield surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Thomas Springfield (c. 1551-1599), an English dramatist and poet who wrote plays for the Lord Admiral's Men theatre company in London during the Elizabethan era.
William Springfield (1610-1678) was a prominent English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Wilsford in Lincolnshire and published several religious works in the 17th century.
In the 18th century, John Springfield (1737-1821) was a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and later became a respected hydrographer and surveyor.
Another notable figure was Robert Springfield (1807-1876), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the calculation of planetary orbits.
Samuel Springfield (1822-1892) was an English artist and illustrator known for his detailed etchings and engravings of architectural subjects, particularly churches and cathedrals across Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Springfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Springfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Springfield 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 Springfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.7% · 1,813
- Black or African American36.8% · 1,264
- Two or more races4.4% · 153
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 121
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 73
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Springfield
Springfield 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
#9,112
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,586
+165 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Down 294 places
2020
#9,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,439
-147 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 14 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,818 | 3,421 | 1.27 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,112 | 3,586 | 1.22 | +165 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 294 places |
| 2020 | #9,126 | 3,439 | 1.15 | -147 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 14 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 Springfield 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 | #9,112 | #9,126 | -0.2% |
| Count | 3,586 | 3,439 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.22 | 1.15 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Springfield bearers went from 3,586 to 3,439 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 14 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,112 to #9,126.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Springfield
FAQ
Springfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Springfield?
Name Census estimates that about 3,944 living Americans carry the surname Springfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,905 residents.
How common is Springfield?
Springfield ranks #9,126 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,439 people with the surname Springfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,944), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Springfield.
Has Springfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Springfield went from 3,586 recorded bearers to 3,439. That is a decrease of 147 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,112 to #9,126.
What does the Census say about the background of Springfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Springfield, the largest self-reported group is White at 52.7%. The next largest groups are Black (36.8%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Springfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.7% (1,813 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Springfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (52.7%), Black (36.8%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Springfield (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 Springfield mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near a spring or a field with a spring. 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 Springfield (1.15 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 common is the surname Springfield?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Springfield at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.