Scofield
A surname with two competing origins: in English use it often reflects Schofield, but some French lines point to Escoville in Normandy.
The #5,731 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 51,049 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Scofield is usually treated as a variant of Schofield, which was historically explained from Old English elements interpreted as something like a “show” or boundary field, though that older analysis is not secure. A stronger alternative, given by some later surname scholars, is that Scofield is an English form of the French place-name Escoville in Calvados. Because the surname appears in more than one spelling tradition, its roots may differ from family to family.
History
The name is recorded in historical surname lists alongside Schofield, suggesting it often developed as a spelling variant rather than a wholly separate name. Baring-Gould specifically grouped Scofield with English forms of Escoville, indicating a French locational explanation for at least some bearers. In modern usage the spelling Scofield is less common than Schofield or Schofield-type forms, but it is well established in English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 1913 surname dictionary explicitly grouped Scofield with Shovell as English forms of the Norman place-name Escoville.
From the historical record
“SACE, from Sassey, in Calvados, or Sace in Mayenne. SCOFIELD and SHOVELL are all English forms of Escoville in Calvados. 264 EARLY FRENCH NAMES SEELEY may possibly hail from Sille in Sarthe. SERVICE is from St. Servais in Cotes du Nord.”
— Family Names and their Story