2000
#11,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,461
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Cadle
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of candles, derived from Middle English "cadeler".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,887 Americans carry the last name Cadle. That puts it at #11,893 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,723 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cadle surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cadle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.9K
1 in 118,723
Census rank
#11,893
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,518 bearers of the surname Cadle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11893rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cadle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cadle
The surname Cadle is believed to have originated from the Old English word "cadehl," which means "round hill" or "small hill." This suggests that the name may have derived from a geographical feature such as a hill or a place where the earliest bearers of this name resided.
Cadle is an English surname that can be traced back to the 12th century. Some of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1202, where it was spelled as "Cadel." Other variations such as "Cadehill" and "Cadehull" were also found in various records from the same period.
In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, the name was recorded as "Cadel" in the county of Buckinghamshire. This suggests that the name was prevalent in central and southern England during the medieval period.
The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and population in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname Cadle. However, it does mention several place names that may have contributed to the formation of this surname, such as "Cathill" and "Caddington."
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Cadle was John Cadle, who was born around 1520 in Wiltshire, England. Another notable individual was William Cadle, a merchant from Bristol, who was mentioned in records from the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, the name appears in various parish records across England. For example, Thomas Cadle was baptized in 1636 in Mere, Wiltshire, while Richard Cadle was married in 1669 in Warminster, also in Wiltshire.
Several individuals with the surname Cadle have made significant contributions throughout history. One such figure was Sir John Cadle (1577-1639), an English lawyer and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Taunton in 1628.
Another notable bearer of the name was Robert Cadle (1823-1900), an English architect who designed several notable buildings in Bristol, including the Bristol Museum and Art Gallery.
In the United States, one of the earliest records of the Cadle surname dates back to the 17th century. John Cadle, born in 1630 in England, immigrated to Massachusetts and was among the early settlers in the colony.
During the American Revolutionary War, Captain Asa Cadle (1750-1835) served as a member of the Massachusetts militia and was involved in several battles against the British forces.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cadle
Among Census respondents with the surname Cadle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cadle bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cadle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.4% · 2,025
- Black or African American10.0% · 252
- Two or more races4.4% · 112
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 100
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cadle
Cadle appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#11,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,617
+156 bearers (+6.3%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 266 places
2020
#11,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,518
-99 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,680 | 2,461 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,946 | 2,617 | 0.89 | +156 bearers (+6.3%) | Down 266 places |
| 2020 | #11,893 | 2,518 | 0.84 | -99 bearers (-3.8%) | Up 53 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cadle surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #11,946 | #11,893 | 0.4% |
| Count | 2,617 | 2,518 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.84 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cadle bearers went from 2,617 to 2,518 (-3.8% change). The surname moved up 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,946 to #11,893.
FAQ
Cadle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cadle?
Name Census estimates that about 2,887 living Americans carry the surname Cadle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,723 residents.
How common is Cadle?
Cadle ranks #11,893 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,518 people with the surname Cadle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,887), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cadle.
Has Cadle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cadle went from 2,617 recorded bearers to 2,518. That is a decrease of 99 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,946 to #11,893.
What does the Census say about the background of Cadle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cadle, the largest self-reported group is White at 80.4%. The next largest groups are Black (10.0%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cadle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.4% (2,025 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cadle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (80.4%), Black (10.0%), Two or More Races (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cadle (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cadle mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of candles, derived from Middle English "cadeler". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cadle (0.84 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Cadle?
See how common the surname Cadle is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.