Calder
A Scottish and northern English surname taken from places beside the river Calder, whose name was traditionally explained as meaning a stony or wooded stream.
The #6,848 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 62,817 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually locational: it meant someone who lived near a place called Calder or by the River Calder. Older writers gave different Celtic explanations for the river name, including 'stony river' and 'wooded stream.' The exact original root is uncertain, but the name is clearly ancient and river-based.
History
Historical records place the surname in Scotland by the 12th century, and it also appears in northern England, where several rivers and settlements bear the name Calder. Later forms include Caldour and Kaledour in medieval charters. Related surnames such as Calderwood and Calderbank also reflect the same place-name origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name Calder shows up in several British river names, not just in family names, which is why the surname can point back to different local places rather than one single ancestral village.
From the historical record
“CALDER (Celt.) Stony. Water [Celt, cal, stone (seen in Wei. calen, whetstone, caled = Ir. caladh, hard, stony, caletir-^ tir; ground — , hard or stony ground ; Ir. and Gael.rfacA — iorcal-ach — stone) ; cogn. with Lat. calx, stone, and therefore with Eng. chalk + the early form - of Wei, dw{f)r, Bret, dour, Ir..…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)Notable people named Calder
- Alexander Calder (1898–1976)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.