Burchfield
An English habitational surname probably meaning “someone from the birch-field.”
The #5,274 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 46,695 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Burchfield is usually explained as an English locational name built from Old English elements meaning “birch” and “field” or “open land.” In form, it likely refers to someone who lived by or came from a field marked by birch trees, or from a place so named. The first element may also reflect a northern English spelling tradition in which birch was written with a -ch- sound or spelling variant.
History
As with many English place-based surnames, Burchfield would originally have identified a person by their place of origin rather than by family line. The surname is most strongly associated with English naming patterns and later appears in records in Britain and, through migration, in North America. Modern bearers are comparatively uncommon, and the spelling has remained fairly stable.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The surname is one letter away from the much more common Birchfield, which likely shares the same basic meaning.