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

Liddell, 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 Liddell surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Liddell in America

Liddell is the 6874th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Liddell surname appeared 4,892 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Liddell.

We can also compare 2010 data for Liddell 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 Liddell

The surname Liddell is of Anglo-Saxon origin and traces its roots back to the medieval counties of Durham and Northumberland in England. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "hlið" meaning "hill slope" and "fell" meaning "hill," suggesting the name originally referred to someone who lived on a hillside.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname appears in the Pipe Rolls of Northumberland in 1230, where it is listed as "Lidel." Other early spellings include "Lidell," "Liddel," and "Liddill." The surname is also mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of Northumberland in 1273, indicating its prevalence in the region during the Middle Ages.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, several place names are listed that may have contributed to the formation of the surname. These include "Liddel" in Cumberland and "Liddesdale" in Roxburghshire, Scotland.

Notable individuals with the surname Liddell throughout history include:

1. Sir Henry Liddell (c. 1495-1567), an English nobleman and landowner who served as the Sheriff of Northumberland.

2. Henry George Liddell (1811-1898), an English academic and co-author of the renowned "Liddell and Scott Greek-English Lexicon."

3. Alice Liddell (1852-1934), the inspiration behind Lewis Carroll's fictional character Alice in the classic novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

4. Eric Liddell (1902-1945), a Scottish Olympic gold medalist and Christian missionary whose life was depicted in the film "Chariots of Fire."

5. James Liddell (1770-1846), a Scottish architect and civil engineer best known for designing the Waterloo Bridge in London.

While the name has historically been more prevalent in northern England and Scotland, individuals bearing the surname Liddell can be found around the world today, reflecting the migration patterns of the past few centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Liddell

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

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 Liddell 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 Liddell 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 Liddell was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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