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

Meader, 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 Meader surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Meader in America

Meader is the 13746th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Meader surname appeared 2,201 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Meader.

We can also compare 2010 data for Meader 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 Meader

The surname Meader originated in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "mæde," meaning meadow, suggesting that the earliest bearers of the name lived near a meadow or worked as meadhands.

In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror, there is an entry for a place called "Meadrow" in Somerset, which may be connected to the Meader surname's origins.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, which mention a William Meder. The surname also appears in various forms, such as Meder, Meader, and Meeder, in medieval records across different counties in England.

In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Sir John Meader (c. 1510-1585), a wealthy merchant and landowner from Devon. He served as the Sheriff of Devon in 1568 and was involved in various legal disputes over property ownership.

Another prominent figure with the Meader surname was Robert Meader (1608-1675), an early Puritan settler in New England who arrived in Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1638. He was granted land in what is now Ipswich, Massachusetts, and his descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of New England.

William Meader (1683-1756), a descendant of Robert Meader, was a prominent farmer and landowner in Stratham, New Hampshire. He served as a selectman and was involved in the local militia during the French and Indian Wars.

In the 19th century, John Meader (1801-1879) was a notable figure in the shipbuilding industry in Maine. He owned a shipyard and was involved in the construction of numerous vessels, contributing significantly to the local economy.

Another individual of note was Mary Meader (1847-1924), a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights in Vermont. She founded the Brattleboro Domestic Seminary, one of the earliest educational institutions for women in the state, and was actively involved in the women's suffrage movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Meader

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Meader, 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!