Find out how popular the last name Cradle is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Cradle.

Cradle, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Cradle surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cradle in America

Cradle is the 46568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cradle surname appeared 457 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Cradle.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cradle to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Cradle

The surname "CRADLE" is of English origin and is believed to have emerged during the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century. The name is thought to be derived from the Old English word "cradel," which referred to a small bed or crib for an infant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where a certain William Cradel is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use as a hereditary surname by the early 14th century.

Over time, the surname underwent various spelling variations, such as Cradell, Cradill, and Cradyll, before settling into the more modern form of "CRADLE." These variations likely arose due to inconsistencies in record-keeping and regional dialects.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the records of the Court of the Marshalsea in London, where a John Cradle is listed as a defendant in a case from 1578. This indicates that the surname had spread to the capital city by that time.

One notable bearer of the name was Sir William Cradle, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries (c. 1560-1625). He was a prominent merchant and landowner in the county of Somerset and served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Ilchester in 1614.

Another individual of historical significance was Thomas Cradle (1640-1702), an English clergyman and academic who served as the President of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, from 1689 until his death.

In the 18th century, the surname can be found in the records of the East India Company, where a James Cradle (1718-1791) worked as a merchant and administrator in Bengal, India.

One of the earliest known instances of the surname in North America dates back to the late 17th century, when a William Cradle is recorded as a landowner in the colony of Virginia in 1688.

Throughout the 19th century, the name appears in various records across England, including in the birth, marriage, and death registers of various parishes. One notable bearer from this period was John Cradle (1814-1886), a successful industrialist and inventor from Manchester, who held several patents for innovations in textile manufacturing.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cradle

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Cradle.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Cradle was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Cradle has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Cradle was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cradle, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!