Stubblefield
A habitational or descriptive English surname that likely refers to a field left with stubble after harvest.
The #4,002 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,776 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Stubblefield is transparently built from English stubble, the short stalks left in a field after grain is cut, plus field. The name most likely began as a topographic surname for someone who lived by, worked on, or was associated with such a field. The element is literal rather than metaphorical, and the sense is close to “stubbly field” or “field with stubble.”
History
The surname is chiefly found in English-speaking countries, especially the United States, where it survives as a relatively uncommon name. The historical excerpts place it among other nature-based field surnames, which supports an origin in rural landscape description rather than in a personal nickname. It may also have been reinforced in America by spelling stabilization from earlier English forms or local family usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
It belongs to a large family of surnames formed from everyday landscape words like Field, Marsh, and Hill.
From the historical record
“Stocking. Stubblefield. Sweet. Stan groom. Staple.”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames