Explore the Family Name Fields

The meaning of Fields

1. English: topographic name from Middle English feldes, plural or possessive of feld ‘arable field, flat open country’. See Field. 2. Americanized form (translation into English) of French Deschamps. 3. In some cases also an Americanized form (actually an adoption of the name in 1 above) of Jewish Blumenfeld.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Fields in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Fields" has seen slight changes over the years. In 2000, "Fields" was the 264th most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010, it had slipped to 288th place, marking a decrease of 9.09%. However, the actual count of people with this surname increased from 103,242 in 2000 to 107,522 in 2010, showing a rise of 4.15%. Despite this increase, the proportion of individuals with the "Fields" surname per 100,000 people decreased by 4.76% during the same period.

20002010Change
Rank#264#288-9.09%
Count103,242107,5224.15%
Proportion per 100k38.2736.45-4.76%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Fields

The ethnic identity associated with the surname "Fields" also experienced some shifts between 2000 and 2010, according to the Decennial U.S. Census. The proportion of Asian/Pacific Islanders with this surname increased by 18.18%, while those identifying as two or more races saw an increase of 33.00%. Individuals who identified as White and bore the "Fields" surname experienced a small decrease of 3.48%. The Hispanic population with this surname saw substantial growth of 53.02%, whereas the Black population experienced a minor increase of 1.65%. The proportion of American Indian and Alaskan Natives remained static during this ten-year span.

20002010Change
White59.74%57.66%-3.48%
Black35.2%35.78%1.65%
Two or More Races2%2.66%33%
Hispanic1.49%2.28%53.02%
American Indian and Alaskan Native1.24%1.24%0%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.33%0.39%18.18%

Fields ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Fields is British & Irish, which comprises 48.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (20.2%) and Nigerian (5.5%). Additional ancestries include Ashkenazi Jewish, Ghanaian, Liberian & Sierra Leonean, Eastern European, Scandinavian, and Spanish & Portuguese.

Ready to learn more about your ancestry? Get the most comprehensive ancestry breakdown on the market by taking our DNA test. Shop 23andMe

ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish48.8%
French & German20.2%
Nigerian5.5%
Other25.6%
Fields

Possible origins of the surname Fields

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Fields have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom75.70%
Greater London, United Kingdom75.70%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom75.50%
West Midlands, United Kingdom75.40%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom75.00%

What Fields haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Fields is I-Z58, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup I-Z58 is descended from haplogroup I-M170. Other common haplogroups include I-F2642 and I-M253, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Lowe, Baker, Norman, Reed, White, Smith, Green, Johnson, Brown, Taylor.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Fields surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

fieldsPaternal Haplogroup Origins I-M170
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to Alexander Hamilton

Early in the morning on July 11, 1804, Aaron Burr (then Vice President of the United States) and Alexander Hamilton (founder of the U.S. Treasury) dueled on the New Jersey side of the Hudson River. This marked the culmination of a bitter personal and political rivalry between the two men. Alexander Hamilton died as a result of the duel, but his intellectual legacy survives in the founding documents of the nation he helped build. A piece of his genetic legacy survives as well: in the 21st century, genealogists documented the paternal haplogroups of dozens of Hamilton's living descendants and concluded that the Founding Father's paternal haplogroup was a branch of I-DF29.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Fields have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Fields

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Fields" Surname 40.6%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Fields

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Fields" Surname 28.0%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Fields

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Fields" Surname 24.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Fields

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Fields" Surname 20.0%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Fields?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Fields are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%