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

Yelder, 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 Yelder surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Yelder in America

Yelder is the 39887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Yelder surname appeared 550 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 Yelder.

We can also compare 2010 data for Yelder 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 Yelder

The surname Yelder likely originates from England, with its earliest roots tracing back to the medieval period. The name appears to have regional ties to Yorkshire and surrounding counties during the 13th and 14th centuries. It is derived from the Old English words gelde, meaning to pay a tribute or rent, or the Old English word geldra, meaning a lender or someone involved in geld (money).

One of the earliest documented references to the surname Yelder appears in the Yorkshire Poll Tax records of 1379, where a John Yelder is mentioned. The name also appears in various court rolls and manorial documents from the same period, suggesting that individuals with the name were involved in local governance or landholdings. Variations of the name in medieval records include Yeldor and Yeldur, which indicates phonetic spelling variations common in that era.

A significant historical record comes from the will of Thomas Yeldor in 1575, where he is noted as a yeoman of Wiltshire, demonstrating the spread of the surname into southern England by the 16th century. Another early mention includes Robert Yelder, who is listed as a tax collector in Lincolnshire in the early 1500s.

In the 17th century, records from the parish of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London include a George Yelder, baptized in 1625, indicating that urbanization was beginning to draw families with this surname into the growing metropolis of London.

One notable figure in the 18th century is William Yelder, an educator and cleric, born in 1703 and later becoming known for his contributions to the local school systems in Kent. Another significant individual is Anne Yeldur, a noted midwife, and healer in Devon around 1730.

Moving into the 19th century, the surname sees representation in early industrial England, with James Yelder, a noted inventor and engineer, born in 1822. James made significant contributions to mechanical engineering and is recorded in various patent documents of the period.

The surname Yelder, though never exceedingly common, has carried through centuries with its roots deeply embedded in English history, signifying its bearers' roles in society as local administrators, clerks, and skilled professionals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Yelder

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

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

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