# Caldwell (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/caldwell/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A habitational surname from Old English.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | English |
| Type | place, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 93,944 |
| US rank (2010) | 327 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 3,286 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.9% (91,338 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈkɔːldwɛl/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Caudwell, Cauldwell |

## Etymology

From Old English cald (“cold”) + wielle (“well, spring”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Caldwell in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 68% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 26% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.3% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 2.3% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Caldwell in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Ireland.

## People named Caldwell

- Erskine Caldwell, American novelist, short story writer, travel writer, essayist (1903–1987)
- Tracy Caldwell Dyson, American chemist and NASA astronaut
- Taylor Caldwell, American novelist (1900-1985)
- Zoe Caldwell, Australian actress (1933–2020)
- Ashley Caldwell, American freestyle skier
- Hubert A. Caldwell, American rower (1907-1972)
- Kimberly Caldwell, American actress and singer
- Carole Caldwell Graebner, American tennis player (1943–2008)
- Joe Caldwell, American basketball player (born 1941)
- Sarah Caldwell, American opera conductor, impresario, and stage director (1924-2006)
- Bobby Caldwell, American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist (1951-2023)
- Christopher Caldwell, American political writer

and 13 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Coldwell.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.