Mansfield Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Mansfield Family History

Mansfield Family History

The family history of the ancient name Mansfield was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Mansfield include Mansfeld and Mannsfeld. This is a locality name meaning 'of Mansfield', from a parish found in County Nottinghamshire. This name is of English descent and is found in many ancient manuscripts. Examples of such are a Robertus Mannsfeld who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire in the year 1379. A Richard Mannsfeilde and Susanna Selbie were granted a marriage license in London in the year 1577.

Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by the method of creating and updating these old reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.

In Ireland Mansfield is often of immigrant origin, especially in Ulster Province. The Norman 'de Mandeville' family who settled in County Antrim in the twelfth century occasionally anglicized their name as Mansfield, as well as Mandeville. The Mansfield family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Mansfield descendants.