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Wakefield Family History

Wakefield Name Meaning

English: habitational name from the city of Wakefield in Yorkshire and from Wakefield Lawn in Potterspury (Northamptonshire). Both are named from the Old English personal name Waca or Old English wacu ‘wake festival’ + feld ‘open country’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: Warfield, Winfield, Padfield, Woodfield, Caulfield, Benefield

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Hint: Try searching for a relative alive in 1940.

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Where is the Wakefield family from?

You can see how Wakefield families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Wakefield family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Wakefield families were found in United Kingdom in 1891. In 1911 there were 152 Wakefield families living in Ontario. This was about 57% of all the recorded Wakefield's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Wakefield families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Wakefield surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Wakefield ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Stenographer were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Wakefield. 51% of Wakefield men worked as a Farmer and 31% of Wakefield women worked as a Stenographer. Some less common occupations for Americans named Wakefield were Agent and Bookkeeper. .

View Census Data for Wakefield | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    51%
  • Carpenter
    8%
  • Labourer
    6%
  • Agent
    5%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Stenographer
    31%
  • Servant
    24%
  • Clerk
    16%
  • Bookkeeper
    16%
Black & white image of two construction labourers

What Wakefield family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 181,000 census records available for the last name Wakefield. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Wakefield census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Wakefield

Passenger Lists

There are 15,000 immigration records available for the last name Wakefield. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Wakefield immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 21,000 military records available for the last name Wakefield. For the veterans among your Wakefield ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Wakefield military records

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What is the average Wakefield lifespan?

Between 1942 and 2004, in the United States, Wakefield life expectancy was at its lowest point in 1946, and highest in 2004. The average life expectancy for Wakefield in 1942 was 39, and 78 in 2004.

View Social Security Death Index (SSDI) for Wakefield

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