The earliest variation I have of the name is in the 11th century, used by Richard de Blunvill from the settlement of Blonville, some 3 km inland from the Normandy coast near the mouth of the Seine. It is likely that the family were originally Norse settlers or Vikings who, as a group, acquired the land west of the Seine (now known as Normandy) by the 911 treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between the Viking leader Rollo (Hrolf, later Robert) and Charles III (The Simple) of France. The treaty conditions traded the land of Normandy (the land of the Norsemen) for an agreement not to sack the French capital of Paris.

Since that time, the name de Blonville or de Blunvill is seen in many forms including de Blomeville, de Blomevyle, Blondeville, Blomvyle, Le Blomvile, and around the 17th century in it's anglicised spelling Blomfield, Bloomfield, Blomfylde and of course Blunderfield. These variants reflect the peculiarities of official record-keeping by church wardens, not all of whom were fully literate, or who were obliged to transcribe names as they sounded. Also at play was a variety of local French and English dialects and the transition of Saxon England's unofficial language into formalised Norman French under William the Conqueror's sweeping administrative reforms.

According to the plaque displayed at Notre-Dame de Dives, in Dives sur Mer, Normandy, a Richard de Bondeville was numbered among Duke William's 345 Companions in Arms who sailed from there in 1066 for the Battle of Hastings. Bondeville, however, is a different place to Blonville, so there may be no connection.  Afterwards, many of William's companions and supporters took advantage of the post-conquest resettlement opportunities (free land and manors) and took up substantial landholdings. In 1086, Richard de Blunvill held lands in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. 

Guild of One Name Studies

Acknowledgements
Over the years I have been pleased to receive assistance, information and corrections, from descendants and other researchers who share my interest in the Blunderfield name. In particular:

In the 1980's, the late Jean Bellamy in Sydney, first brought my attention to the Australian branch of the family and provided me with several newspaper cuttings regarding the infamous George Farrow Blunderfield.

Cheryl Bender in California, who provided most of the information about the three sons of Henry Page Blunderfield, that emigrated to Canada around 1890.

Angela and John Sheppard Fidler in Surrey provided much detail about the descendants of William Riches Blunderfield.

Rosie Flower provided much additional detail regarding the descendants of Henry Page Blunderfield.

Elvie Herd in Norfolk,  a one time Blunderfield stronghold, has been extremely helpful in locating Wills, MI's, Parish Register entries and local newspaper articles.

Robert Ona in Norway provided me with details of the descendants from one of Henry Page Blunderfield's daughters, Mary Jane.

Martha Wattier in Idaho provided me with details of an American branch of the family that descended from William B Blunderfield.

Jill Vernon in the state of Washington, USA. has provided some interesting information about her ancestors who began using the Blondefield surname.

Norfolk c1050-c1200

Norfolk c1200-c1300
 
Norfolk c1300-c1450
 
Norfolk c1450-c1560
 
Norfolk c1560-c1680
 
Norfolk c1680-c1800
 
Norfolk c1800-c1900
 
American Descendants
 
Canadian Descendants
 
Australian Descendants