The Caldwell surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 93,944 people carried this name — #327 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 3,140 people counted. That is up 3% from 91,338 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Caldwell surname

A habitational surname from Old English.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Caldwell» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

As an English and Welsh surname

Bardsley classes it as a local name, from where the family lived: ‘of Caldwell’.

An early record he cites: Ricardus de Coldewell, 1379 — Poll Tax, West Riding of Yorkshire.

From Charles W. Bardsley, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with Special American Instances (London: Henry Frowde, 1901), p. 156 · public domain.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 42 births for the Caldwell name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 1,900 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. 2 of them were indexed under other spellings of the name. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim, Londonderry, and Tyrone.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 37
Leinster 5

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

22 people named Caldwell live in Switzerland.

They live in 5 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 8
Lucerne 4
Neuchâtel 4
Bern 3
Geneva 3

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

In the Nordic population registers

31 people named Caldwell is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 31

Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).

Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s

Caldwell was found among the farmers of Lancashire: 8 in every 10,000.

Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Per 10,000 farmers, by county

Lancashire 8

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.

In Scotland, 1880s

Caldwell was 12 in every 10,000 names in Scotland.

That is about 1 in 833. Its home there, in Guppy’s words: “Ayrshire and the Paisley district.” He counted the more than 20,000 names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, taking Scotland as a whole, and listed only the names that reached 10 in every 10,000.

H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), appendix: alphabetical list of the most frequent Scottish names, p. 587 — public domain · names in Halliburton’s County Directory of Scotland, per 10,000 for the whole country.

In Scotland’s registers today

Caldwell was recorded 75 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 354th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 133. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In the first U.S. census, 1790

265 families named Caldwell, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 1,465 people lived in those households, 5.5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 80
South Carolina 36
New York 27
Massachusetts 26
Virginia 21
New Hampshire 20
North Carolina 18
Rhode Island 12
Maryland 10
Connecticut 8
Vermont 6
Maine 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 232 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Caldwell in American newspapers,
1914.

Newspaper page from The Caldwell Watchman carrying the name Caldwell
The Caldwell Watchman 1914-03-13

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Caldwell in Australian newspapers,
1820s–2000s.

101,030 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Caldwell. The most, 14,534, date from the 1890s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 2.4 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 34,233
South Australia 29,037
Victoria 17,948
Queensland 13,025
Western Australia 4,437
Tasmania 1,545
ACT (Canberra) 461
Northern Territory 143

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Caldwell.

Who carried it

People named Caldwell,
with a public archive behind them.

  • C. W. Caldwell d. 1921 · politician
  • James Caldwell d. 1616 · Christian minister
  • Guy Caldwell d. 1948
  • Celia Nora Caldwell d. 1961
  • John Caldwell d. 1639
  • Sir James Caldwell, 1st Bt. d. 1717

Wikidata (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Caldwell,
in the records of 8 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States7,076 records

7,076 records of the Caldwell name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 3,150
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 1,420
  • Other U.S. records 2,506
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Floyd Dean Caldwell

    Born 1934; from St Louis, Missouri. U.S. Army, airplane technical inspector; died in an accident 1971 in South Vietnam. Buried at Texas State Veterans Cemetery At Abilene, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Buell G. Caldwell

    Born 1912 in Tennessee. Enlisted 1944 at Camp Shelby, Mississippi; aircraft worker. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1964, buried at Chattanooga National Cemetery, Tennessee.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Catherine Caldwell

    Arrived at New York in 1892 aboard the Anchoria from Glasgow and Moville, aged 17; servant. From Antrim, Ireland; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 7,076 records for Caldwell in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia2,024 records

2,024 records of the Caldwell name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 1,068
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 352
  • Other Australian records 604
  1. An 1829 etching of convicts being rowed out to the prison ship York in Portsmouth Harbour
    Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829
    Transportation record Thomas Caldwell

    Transported to New South Wales aboard the Archduke Charles, arriving 1813; certificate of freedom 1826.

    Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record James Caldwell

    Arrived in Victoria in 1853 aboard the Edmond, aged 55; English.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Robert J. Caldwell

    Enlisted in 1910 with the 5th Battalion. Honoured on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour.

    City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU)

Showing 3 of 2,024 records for Caldwell in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0).

Canada874 records

874 records of the Caldwell name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 725
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 48
  • Other Canadian records 101
  1. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record Unis Caldwell

    Left New York in 1783 aboard the L'Abondence, bound for Port Roseway, aged 19.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Jas Caldwell

    Came to Ontario in 1875 aboard the Polynesian, bound for Wingham, Ontario; English.

    Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Sarah Catherine Caldwell

    Buried in 1973 at Burnsland Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 86.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.

Showing 3 of 874 records for Caldwell in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

United Kingdom63 records

63 records of the Caldwell name in the United Kingdom
  • Stirling Council burial records 26
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 25
  • Other British records 12
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Robert P. Caldwell

    Died 1948, aged 42; buried at Bannockburn Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Maria Caldwell

    Buried in 1810 at St James's burial ground, Euston, London, aged 21.

    MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  3. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record James Caldwell

    Killed or died by 1920. Named in the roll of honour of the Royal High School of Edinburgh (1920).

    National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain)

Showing 3 of 63 records for Caldwell in the United Kingdom.

Counts: Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · National Library of Scotland, Rolls of Honour (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand62 records

62 records of the Caldwell name in New Zealand
  • Christchurch City cemetery records 46
  • Marlborough District cemetery records 7
  • Other New Zealand records 9
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Ronald Frederick Caldwell

    Buried in 1969 at Totara Memorial Park Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 58.

    Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Florence Patrice Caldwell

    Died 1981, aged 60; buried at Waimairi Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Joseph Brown Caldwell

    Died 1973, aged 64; buried at Omaka Cemetery, Marlborough.

    Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 62 records for Caldwell in New Zealand.

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Waimakariri District Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands8 records

8 records of the Caldwell name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 4
  • Dutch population registers 2
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 2
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record James Caldwell

    Died 1836 in Rotterdam, aged 34.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Susan Marij Caldwell

    Died 1961 in Eindhoven.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 2 of 8 records for Caldwell in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

France3 records

3 records of the Caldwell name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Christian Marcel Adrien Caldwell

    Born 1947 in Sanvic (Seine-Maritime); died 1995 in Dunkerque (Nord).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Dorothy Annette Caldwell

    Born 1915 in Great Britain; died 1998 in Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 2 of 3 records for Caldwell in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Caldwell name in Belgium Belgian civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Marie Caldwell

    Died 1877 in Kortijk.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Kortrijk (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Caldwell.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Caldwell is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

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