How common is the surname Caldwell?

93,944 people in the United States had the surname Caldwell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,286 Americans. It ranked 327th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Caldwell?

Erskine Caldwell, American novelist, short story writer, travel writer, essayist (1903–1987), followed by Tracy Caldwell Dyson.

Where is the surname Caldwell most common?

Wikidata records people named Caldwell in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.

How do you pronounce Caldwell?

Caldwell is /ˈkɔːldwɛl/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Caldwell getting more or less common?

More common. 91,338 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 93,944 in 2010, up 2.9%.

Is Caldwell also a first name?

Yes. Caldwell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Caldwell

An English place surname, carried by 93,944 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈkɔːldwɛl/ 2 syllables Soundex C434

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Caldwell is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

English origin

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

Caldwell is a place surname: taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 93,944 people named Caldwell in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 3,286 Americans. That is up 2.9% since 2000, when the Census counted 91,338.

#327

rank among US surnames

93,944

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+2.9%

change since 2000 (was #301)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#318	Avila	97,314	3,173
#319	Wade	97,040	3,182
#320	Molina	96,979	3,184
#321	Stanley	96,867	3,187
#322	Hopkins	96,810	3,189
#323	Campos	96,111	3,212
#324	Barnett	95,681	3,227

Who is named Caldwell

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

68% of people named Caldwell identified as white (not Hispanic), 26% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as two or more races.

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Caldwells

25 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Erskine Caldwell
American novelist, short story writer, travel writer, essayist (1903–1987)
Tracy Caldwell Dyson
American chemist and NASA astronaut, born 1969
Taylor Caldwell
American novelist (1900-1985)
Zoe Caldwell
Australian actress (1933–2020)
Ashley Caldwell
American freestyle skier, born 1993
Hubert A. Caldwell
American rower (1907-1972)
Kimberly Caldwell
American actress and singer, born 1982
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, born 1962

Notable Caldwells come mostly from the United States (20), the United Kingdom (2) and Australia (2).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Caudwell
Cauldwell

Surnames that sound like Caldwell

Coldwell

Caldwell has the Soundex code C434, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code C434.

Other English surnames

All 1,446 English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Caldwell come from?: From Old English cald (“cold”) + wielle (“well, spring”).
How common is the surname Caldwell?: 93,944 people in the United States had the surname Caldwell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 3,286 Americans. It ranked 327th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Caldwell?: In the 2010 Census, 68% of people named Caldwell identified as white (not Hispanic), and 26% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Caldwell?: Erskine Caldwell, American novelist, short story writer, travel writer, essayist (1903–1987), followed by Tracy Caldwell Dyson.
Where is the surname Caldwell most common?: Wikidata records people named Caldwell in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia and 1 other country.
How do you pronounce Caldwell?: Caldwell is /ˈkɔːldwɛl/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Caldwell?: Caldwell is a place surname, taken from where an ancestor lived or came from.
Is the surname Caldwell getting more or less common?: More common. 91,338 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 93,944 in 2010, up 2.9%.
What are other spellings of Caldwell?: Caudwell and Cauldwell.
Is Caldwell also a first name?: Yes. Caldwell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.