Crowther
An occupational surname for a player of the crowd, a medieval fiddle-like instrument.
The #8,492 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 79,574 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Crowther is generally explained as an occupational name from Middle English crowder or crowther, meaning a player of the crowd, an early bowed string instrument. The word is linked to Welsh crwth, the name of the instrument, which was a kind of fiddle or lyre. In this sense, the surname originally identified a musician who played for fairs, weddings, and other festivities.
History
The surname is recorded in England and later spread more widely through British and American usage. Nineteenth-century surname writers consistently treated Crowther as a musical occupational name, and Lower explicitly cross-references it under Crowder. Some later writers noted that a few similar-looking names may be unrelated local or personal-name forms, but Crowther itself is usually taken as the musician surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The instrument behind the name, the crwth or crowd, was an old bowed string instrument with deep Welsh associations and a very distinctive sound.
From the historical record
“CROWN. A popular inn sign. CROWTHER. See Crowder. CROXTON. Parishes and places in cos. Cambridge, Lincoln, Chester, Norfolk, Lei- cester, Stafford, &c. CROYDEN. Croydon. CROYDON.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom