Kinder
A surname most likely taken from a place in Derbyshire, England, with occasional later confusion with older words for kin or child-related forms.
The #3,391 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 29,296 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Kinder is best understood as a locational surname from Kinder, a hamlet in Derbyshire. In surname use, it would have originally identified someone who came from that place. Some older writers also noticed forms resembling words for kin or related nicknames, but the place-name explanation is the clearest and most direct.
History
The surname appears in English records in several spellings, including Kynder and Kender. 19th-century surname dictionaries place it chiefly among local surnames from the Derbyshire hamlet, and examples show it in England and later in the United States. The name remained uncommon but steady, spreading with English migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The name of the Derbyshire hamlet Kinder is also associated with Kinder Scout, a well-known moorland ridge in the Peak District.
From the historical record
“word is London ' slang ' for a young thief. KINDER. A hamlet in Derbyshire. KINE. Kin, Kiune, and Kjue are found as surnames in H.R., probably implying the same as Cousin. KING. A very common sobriquet in all ages and countries. Classical antiquity affords us the names of Basilius, Archias, Regulus, Caesarius, &c.…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom