Setchfield

Recorded as Sedgefield, Setchfield, Sedgfield, and possibly others, this is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Sedgefield in County Durham, an ancient place first recorded in the year 1050 a.d. as 'Ceddesfeld'. This spelling may suggest that the meaning is not 'an area of ground (feld) covered with sedge grass' which on the face of it is a logical explanation, but instead refer to an Olde English personal name 'Cedd' a short form of Cedric. Another possible explanation is that 'cedd' which was probably pronounced 'ceth,' meant a stream, and derives from the Anglo-Saxon word 'saece' which would have sounded almost identical. Locational surnames were usually 'from' names. That is to say names that were given to people after they left their original homes, and moved somewhere else. However the alternative was when the local lord of the manor and his descendants took it as their name. In this case it is uncertain which applies, as the name was recorded locally. These recordings show some interesting aspects. The first is that of Henricus Setchfield as spelt, who married Margarita Jackson at Sedgefield on November 1st 1607, whilst slightly later we have the recording of Elizabeth Sedgefield, who was christened at Billingham in Cleveland, on June 1st 1650.