Mansfield
Masculine · “open land by Mam”
Mansfield is a market town in Nottinghamshire before it is a surname, and its most famous bearer held it as a title. William Murray, Lord Mansfield, was the English chief justice who ruled in 1772, in Somerset's case, that an enslaved man living in England could not be forced aboard a ship bound for Jamaica.
How old is the name Mansfield?
Mansfield first appears in US birth records in 1884 — 141 years ago. The typical Mansfield alive today was born around 1928, making them about 97 years old. About 100 people named Mansfield are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mansfield most popular?
Mansfield peaked in 1890, reaching #667 nationally. See the whole 1890 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Mam, an old British hill name to Mansfield
The story of Mansfield
Mansfield grew up on the edge of Sherwood Forest, and families from it took the town's name as a surname. The judge William Murray was made Baron Mansfield in 1756 and later Earl of Mansfield, and Somerset's case carried the name into the history of abolition on both sides of the Atlantic. Jane Austen gave the name to the Bertram family's house in Mansfield Park, published in 1814. As an American first name, Mansfield follows the surname.
Meaning
open land by Mam, an old hill name
An English place-name: Old English feld, 'open land', joined to Mam, an old British hill name from a Celtic word for 'breast' or 'mother'. The first syllable has nothing to do with the word 'man'; it wore down from Mam over the centuries.
How the name formed
- Mam, an old British hill name
- Mansfield, Nottinghamshire
- Mansfield, English surname
- Mansfield as a given name
Pronouncing Mansfield
MANZ-feeld
Two syllables, stressed on the first.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1884
- Most boys named
- 191721 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #667reached in 1890
- Change vs 1983
- −16.7%5 in 1993, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mansfields among us
people named Mansfield are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Mansfield sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- A real English place and surname with a history back to the Middle Ages.
- Tied to Lord Mansfield's ruling in Somerset's case, one of the best-known judgments in English legal history.
- Familiar to readers through Austen's Mansfield Park, so it rarely needs spelling.
- A town, a judge's title and a novel all share it, and people will reach for whichever they know; most will think of Austen.
- It is long and formal for a first name, and no settled short form exists, so expect friends to improvise one.
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Mansfield
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Mansfields are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 100 people named Mansfield are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mansfield in 2025?
- Mansfield is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Mansfield with classmates?
- Mansfield will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More M names
The most-given names starting with M, all years combined.
Michael#21 · Matthew#32 · Mark#244 · Mason#39 · Martin#335 · Marvin#699 · Melvin#958 · Marcus#258
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mansfield? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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