Origin of name Calder

[teddybear1873]

Went into an Irish Pub near where I live called 'Calders Buffalo Pub'

I asked the barmaid why the pub was called Calders, reason was that her ancestors were from Ireland, but she wasn't 100% on that. I told her the name originated from Caithness Scotland and then the whole debate started.

She wasn't happy when I told her that she should change the Irish theme to a Scottish one as I was pretty damn sure the name Calder came from Caithness.

Does anyone have info where the name originates, as I'm sure she's wrong and I'm right?

[sids]

But don't you think Caithness is very like parts of Ireland?

[theone]

http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Calder


This interesting surname may be of either early medieval English or Scottish origin, and is a locational name from Calder in Cumberland, or from any of the various places in Scotland called Calder or Cawdor. The Cumbrian place, recorded as "Calder" in the 1179 Pipe Rolls of that county, and as "Kildre" in 1231, derives its name from the river on which it stands. This is probably an ancient British (pre-Roman) name from ancestors of the Welsh "caked", hard, harsh, violent, with "dwfr", water, stream. Calder in Thurso, Caithness, is recorded in the early 13th Century in the form "Kalfadal", and gets its name from the Old Norse "kalf", calf, with "dair", valley. The others seem to derive from river names, perhaps identical to the Cumbrian river name (above); however, the Old Norse "kaldr", cold, may also be the source, or the Gaelic "call", hazel, with "dobhar", water. Early examples of the surname include: Adam de Calder (Cumberland, 1179); Donal of Calder (Dunmanglas, Inverness, 1419); and John Calder, noted in the Exchequer Rolls of Scotland, dated 1589. James Tait Calder, author, wrote a meritorious "History of Caithness" in 1861, and Sir Robert Calder, who fought at the Battle of St. Vincent, was knighted in 1797; he was created baronet in 1798, and made admiral in 1810. A Coat of Arms granted to the Calder family is a gold shield, a buck's head erased attired with ten black tynes, within four stars and as many crescents alternately disposed orleways azure. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Hugh de Kaledouer, charter witness, which was dated 1178, in the "Register of Arbroath Abbey", Forfarshire, Scotland, during the reign of King William, known as "The Lion" of Scotland, 1165 - 1214. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Calder#ixzz13CUB7afL

[Duncansby]

These don't really answer your question - but these maps (http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Map.aspx?name=CALDER&year=1881&altyear=1998&country=GB&type=name) are pretty interesting. It certainly could be inferred that the distribution of the surname on these maps points to the name being Scottish in origin.

[Duncansby]

The following is from Electricscotland.com (http://www.electricscotland.com/webclans/atoc/calder2.html):

"The name probably derives from the Scots word for a small stream.

Hugo de Cadella, a French Knight, was created Thane of Calder, later to be known as Cawdor in Nairnshire.

Hugh de Kaledouer was a witness to a charter of land near Montrose around 1178.

The Calders were great nobles with considerable lands around Inverness from the 14th century onwards. The tower that stands at the centre of Cawdor Castle was built by the Calders around 1454.

The married other local families, particularly the Rose family, Barons of Kilravock. Their ascendancy came to an end when Archibald Campbell, Earl of Argyll, was, along with Hugh Rose of Kilravock, appointed guardian to the infant female heir of the Calder family.

Campbell tried to take the child to Inverary to be educated as part of his family. This was opposed by her uncles, Alexander and Hugh Calder, who chased them to Strathnairn, but after considerable loss of life, she was safely delivered to Inverary.

She was brought up as a Campbell and married Sir John Campbell, son of the Earl of Argyll.

Muriel the last of the Calders died around 1575 but her descendent John Campbell of Cawdor was raised to the peerage as Lord Cawdor in 1796, and his son was created first Earl of Cawdor in 1827.

The name Calder did not die out, however, and the Calders of Asswanly received lands near Elgin in 1440.

This family received a baronetcy of Nova Scotia in 1686."

[Rheghead]

Probably a norman name who like Robert the Bruce had lands all over northern England and Scotland.

[billmoseley]

i used to live in the Calder valley in West Yorkshire that's was named after the river Calder but not sure where the river got its name from

[Rheghead]

Of course we are omitting the possibility that the laird of Calder Hall sent his serfs to Caithness to work on Dounreay?