Frequency: (828)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
Welsh: from a personal name composed of the elements cad ‘battle’ + gwaladr ‘leader’.
FOREBEARS: John Cadwallader (died 1734) came from Pembroke, Wales, to PA in the late 17th century. The name Cadwal(l)ader appears in 18th-century Philadelphia, PA, including Thomas Cadwalader (1707- 1799), a physician, and his sons, John (1742-1786) and Lambert (1743-1823), both revolutionary war soldiers.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
