Barfield
A locational English surname, most likely meaning “someone from or by the barley field.”
The #2,737 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 23,452 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Barfield is generally understood as a habitational or topographic surname built from Old English elements meaning “barley” and “field.” In that sense, it would originally have referred to someone who lived near a field where barley was grown, or perhaps to a place named for such a field. The form is straightforward and English in structure, and it fits the common medieval pattern of surnames taken from local features or settlements.
History
The surname appears in English records in the usual later-medieval and post-medieval surname pattern, and it survived as a fairly uncommon English name. Modern bearers are found mainly in English-speaking countries, especially the United States and the UK. The historical excerpts supplied do not add etymological detail, but they do show the surname in 19th-century British usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name looks exactly like what it probably once was: a description of a field associated with barley.
From the historical record
“for being engaged in a " strike." Ann Oldfield was a celebrated English actress. Mr. Waterfield is an English architect. In 1805, Mr. Barfield was a British copperplate printer; Rev. Mr. Streatfield was chaplain to the Duke of Kent ; Mr. Makefield commanded the British ship " Atalanta ; " Col. Bome- field was in…”
— Suffolk Surnames (3rd ed.)