2000
#4,217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,788
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.89
Rare Last name
Winfield
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near or in a windy field.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,784 Americans carry the last name Winfield. That puts it at #4,500 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 39,020 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Winfield 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 Winfield with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.8K
1 in 39,020
Census rank
#4,500
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,660 bearers of the surname Winfield in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4500th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Winfield, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Winfield
The surname Winfield originated in England, derived from the Old English words "winnan" meaning "to toil" or "to strive," and "feld" meaning "field." It was a locational name given to someone who lived or worked on a windy or breezy field.
The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 12th century, with a reference to a William de Wynefeld in the Pipe Rolls of Nottinghamshire in 1175. The spelling variations in early records include Wynfeld, Wynfelde, and Wynfyld.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in the Hundred Rolls of 1273 as Willelmus de Wynefeld, indicating a landowner in Derbyshire. The Winfield family also had connections to Staffordshire, where the name was associated with the town of Winfield.
One notable figure bearing the Winfield surname was Sir Ralph de Wynfelde, a 14th-century knight who fought in the Wars of Scottish Independence and was rewarded with lands in Northumberland by King Edward III.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Winfield family gained prominence in Cheshire, where they held lands and estates. Sir Robert Winfield (1548-1628) was a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Cheshire in 1604.
In the 18th century, Sir Henry Winfield (1692-1752) was a renowned physician and Fellow of the Royal Society, known for his contributions to the study of anatomy and physiology.
Another notable bearer of the name was James Winfield (1786-1865), a British military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a Member of Parliament.
The Winfield surname also has a presence in the United States, where it was brought by early English settlers. One of the earliest recorded instances was Thomas Winfield, who arrived in Virginia in 1635.
Throughout history, the Winfield surname has been associated with various professions, including landowners, military figures, politicians, and scholars, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and achievements of those who have carried this name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Winfield
Among Census respondents with the surname Winfield, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Winfield 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 Winfield surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.0% · 3,751
- White41.1% · 3,152
- Two or more races5.1% · 391
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 296
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Winfield
Winfield 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
#4,318
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,230
+442 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#4,500
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,660
-570 bearers (-6.9%)
Per 100,000 2.56
Rank movement Down 182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,217 | 7,788 | 2.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,318 | 8,230 | 2.79 | +442 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #4,500 | 7,660 | 2.56 | -570 bearers (-6.9%) | Down 182 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 Winfield 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 | #4,318 | #4,500 | -4.2% |
| Count | 8,230 | 7,660 | -6.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.79 | 2.56 | -8.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Winfield bearers went from 8,230 to 7,660 (-6.9% change). The surname moved down 182 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,318 to #4,500.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Winfield
FAQ
Winfield surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Winfield?
Name Census estimates that about 8,784 living Americans carry the surname Winfield. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 39,020 residents.
How common is Winfield?
Winfield ranks #4,500 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.56 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,660 people with the surname Winfield. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,784), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.56 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Winfield.
Has Winfield become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Winfield went from 8,230 recorded bearers to 7,660. That is a decrease of 570 (-6.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,318 to #4,500.
What does the Census say about the background of Winfield?
Among Census respondents with the surname Winfield, the largest self-reported group is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (41.1%) and Two or More Races (5.1%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Winfield in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.0% (3,751 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Winfield appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (49.0%), White (41.1%), Two or More Races (5.1%). 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 Winfield (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 Winfield mean?
A locational surname referring to someone who lived near or in a windy field. 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 Winfield (2.56 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 many people have the surname Winfield?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.