Cauldwell

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A surname of English origin, also used as the name of a small English village or locality
2. An English family name derived from an old place name, which also designates a settlement in England
3. A proper noun serving as a surname or as the name of a minor English place

Etymology: Cauldwell is an English surname and place name, and its parts are plain: "cald" (Old English for cold) and "wella" (a spring or stream, a relative of "well"). The sense is "cold spring" or "cold stream," a descriptive name given to a spot where chilly water rose from the ground. Such topographic names were common, and many English surnames were taken from the places where people lived. Several places bearing this name exist in England, and the surname most likely arose independently in more than one of them, so a family bearing it may trace its origin to any of several localities. Because surnames of this type were usually adopted from a settlement or landmark, the name tells you more about where an ancestor lived than about any particular individual.