Crowder
An occupational surname for a player of the crowd, an early fiddle-like stringed instrument.
The #1,460 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 12,656 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Crowder comes from Middle English crowder or crowther, meaning a player of the crowd, an old bowed string instrument. The word is connected with older Celtic terms for the instrument, including Irish and Welsh forms. In later English usage, it came to mean a fiddler or musician who played at feasts, fairs, and dances.
History
The surname is recorded in medieval England, with early forms such as Richard le Cruder in 13th-century Kent and later Yorkshire examples. It belongs to the same occupational family as surnames like Fiddler and Piper. Historical sources also note related dialect words such as "crowdy-kit" in the West of England.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
A 19th-century source notes that in the West of England a small fiddle was still called a "crowdy-kit."
From the historical record
“with Crawenest or Crow's-nest. CROWDER. A player on the croivd, an ancient species of violin with six strings. (Irish cniii, Welsh crivth). In the West of England a small fiddle is still called a "crowdy-kit." It appears to have been a favourite instrument in Britain so early as the VI. cent. In Wickliffe's…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom