Greenfield
A topographic surname for someone who lived by or came from a green field.
The #3,007 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 25,897 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Greenfield is a straightforward English place-name surname built from green + field, meaning literally “green field” or “the field with green growth.” It could refer to someone living near such a place, or to a named settlement or hamlet called Greenfield. Some 19th-century writers also treated it as a local surname linked to a specific Greenfield in Lincolnshire, though the name itself is common enough that several places may have contributed to it.
History
The name appears in medieval records in forms such as Greenefeld, showing that it was established in England by the late 14th century. Later surname writers noted Greenfield as a local surname and occasionally suggested it might sometimes be a reshaping of other names such as Grenville or Granville, but the main explanation remains topographic. The surname is now well established in English-speaking countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One early recorded form is Willelmus Grenefeld in Yorkshire in 1379.
From the historical record
“GREENER. From residence at a green. GREENFIELD, A Lincolnshire hamlet. Also a corruption of Grenville or Granville. GREENGOOSE See Graygoose. GREENIIILL. A liberty in co. Lin- coln. GREENHORNE. This undesirable surname appears to be of the local kind, and the place from Avhich it is derived is probably in Scotland.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom