Wakefield Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Wakefield last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
Order your pack and our heraldry team researches and paints the Wakefield coat of arms for you.
Meaning and origin of the Wakefield last name
Meaning of the Wakefield last name: open land for a wake or festival. Wakefield is an English surname from the West Yorkshire city of Wakefield, from Old English wacu, "wake, festival", and feld, "open land". Bearers took the last name on moving elsewhere. Edward Gibbon Wakefield, a promoter of colonisation in New Zealand, is one well-known example.
Arms associated with the Wakefield name
Coats of arms associated with the Wakefield surname follow English heraldry, each set out in a short blazon.
Get your full Wakefield family history
This is only a glimpse of the Wakefield story. The full Wakefield history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Wakefield coat of arms. Get the full Wakefield report.
Wakefield name FAQ
What does the Wakefield name mean?
Open land for a wake or festival. Common variants include Wakfield.
Where does the Wakefield surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Canada and Australia.
Is there a Wakefield coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Wakefield coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).