Springfield
A place-name surname meaning someone from a spring field or a settlement named Springfield.
The #9,112 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,097 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Springfield is a locational surname taken from one of the many English places called Springfield. The name is transparent: Old English spring or springa refers to a spring or fountain, and feld means an open field or piece of land. So the literal sense is “spring field,” usually understood as land by a spring or well.
History
The surname was adopted by people who moved from a place called Springfield to another district and were then identified by that origin. Because Springfield is a very common English place-name, the surname can arise independently from more than one locality. Historical sources also note Springfield as a common local name, which helps explain why the surname appears in several regions rather than from a single family line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Many English surnames began as simple directions to where someone came from; Springfield is one of the clearest examples of that pattern.
From the historical record
“Soms. Subsidy-Roll, A.D. 1327. Cp. the common local name Springfield. 2 At the Sprinos [O.E. w(i)ellum (occ. w(i)ellun), dat. pi. oiw(t)ell(a, a spring] The Notts place ("St. John's Well”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)