Caudle
A surname of English place-name origin, usually traced as a shortened form of Cauldwell or Caldwell.
The #4,346 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 37,804 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most of the older surname dictionaries treat Caudle as a reduced form of Cauldwell, especially the Derbyshire place-name Cauldwell. The place-name itself is generally explained from Old English elements meaning “cold well,” referring to a spring or well. Some sources also record medieval spellings such as Caldel or Caudel, which show the name’s spelling moving toward the modern form over time.
History
The surname appears in medieval and later records in several spellings, including Caudwell, Cawdell, and Caudel. Nineteenth-century surname writers particularly connected it with Derbyshire, though similar place-names elsewhere may also have contributed to the surname’s spread. In the United States, the name became notably more common than in Britain, likely through a few early immigrant lines expanding rapidly.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One 19th-century surname scholar remarked that the name had “ramified” unusually widely in the United States, a sign of how fast a few family lines could multiply there.
From the historical record
“CATTON. See Caton. CAUDLE. A corruption of Cauldwell, a hamlet in Derbj'shire. CAUDWELL. Cauldwell, co. Derby. CAUGHT. R.G. 16. Possibly a Cock- ney pronunciation of Court. CAUL. A dam-head. Jamieson. CAULCUTT. The same as Caldecott. CAULTON. See Calton.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom