2000
#116,123
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Edder
A dialectal variant of the surname Adder, an occupational name for a maker or seller of adders (pipe stems) or one living near a serpent haunt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Edder. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Edder 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.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Edder in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Edder, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Edder
The surname Edder has its origins in England, with records dating back to the early 13th century. The name is believed to be derived from the Old English word "edisc," meaning "pasture" or "meadow." This suggests that the original bearers of the name may have lived near or worked on a pastoral area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundredorum Rolls of Norfolk from 1273, where it is spelled as "Edere." Similar spellings, such as "Eder" and "Edyr," can be found in various medieval records throughout the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 15th century, the name is documented in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondence from a wealthy Norfolk family. One of the letters, dated around 1450, mentions an individual named William Edder, who was involved in a land dispute.
The Edder surname is also found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The record lists several individuals with variations of the name, such as "Edric" and "Edrice," who were landowners or tenants in various parts of the country.
One notable figure with the surname Edder was John Edder, a prominent English lawyer and judge who lived in the late 16th century. He served as a Justice of the Common Pleas from 1589 until his death in 1598.
Another individual of note was Sir Thomas Edder, a Member of Parliament for the Borough of Sandwich in Kent during the early 17th century. He was born around 1580 and played an active role in local politics and governance.
In the 18th century, the Edder surname can be found in various parish records and historical documents across England, particularly in the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk, and Kent. One notable bearer of the name was William Edder, a successful merchant and landowner who lived in Ipswich, Suffolk, from 1720 to 1798.
The name Edder has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Edder Green in Hertfordshire and Edder's Farm in Kent. These locations likely derived their names from individuals with the Edder surname who lived or owned property there in earlier centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Edder
Among Census respondents with the surname Edder, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Edder 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 Edder surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.4% · 104
- Black or African American2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Edder
Edder 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
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
-24 bearers (-17.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 28,018 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-6 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 6,064 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #116,123 | 139 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | -24 bearers (-17.3%) | Down 28,018 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 6,064 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 Edder 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 | #144,141 | #150,205 | -4.2% |
| Count | 115 | 109 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Edder bearers went from 115 to 109 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 6,064 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #150,205.
FAQ
Edder surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Edder?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Edder. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Edder?
Edder ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Edder. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Edder.
Has Edder become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Edder went from 115 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #144,141 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Edder?
Among Census respondents with the surname Edder, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Edder in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.4% (104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Edder appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.4%), Black (2.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.9%). 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 Edder (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 Edder mean?
A dialectal variant of the surname Adder, an occupational name for a maker or seller of adders (pipe stems) or one living near a serpent haunt. 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 Edder (0.04 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 many people share the surname Edder?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.