Neufeld
A German surname meaning “new field,” originally describing someone who lived by or came from newly cleared land.
The #9,701 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,328 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Neufeld is a German habitational or topographic surname built from neu meaning “new” and Feld meaning “field” or “open land.” In plain terms, it referred to a newly reclaimed or newly settled field, or to a place named for such land. In Jewish surname usage, it is also found as a Germanic ornamental or adopted surname with the same basic sense.
History
The name appears in German-speaking areas and was also adopted by many Ashkenazi Jewish families in Central and Eastern Europe, especially during periods when fixed surnames became required. It spread widely through migration to North America and elsewhere in the 19th and 20th centuries. Because it can be both a true locational surname and a chosen German-style surname, its exact origin within a given family may vary.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same building blocks appear in many German place names, so Neufeld can point either to a specific locality or simply to a “new field” in the landscape.