This is a surname of Olde English and Anglo-Saxon pre 7th century origins. It derives from the word "falod", meaning a fenced area or yard, plus the suffix "er", to indicate a worker at such a place. As such the surname was a medieval job descriptive term for a cattle drover, one who was responsible for seeing that the cattle was taken to the folds or possibly a person who lived by such a place. The surname is one of the first recorded anywhere. This is perhaps not surprisingly given the fact that most people outside of the towns earned their living from agriculture. Amongst these very early examples is that of John atte Fold, in the pipe rolls of the county of Somerset in the year 1327., whilst later recordings include Robert Folder, who was christened at the famous church known as St. Dunstans in the East, Stepney, in 1614, whilst Mary Faulder is recorded as marrying Hilton Docker at St. Johns church, Eltham, Middlesex, in 1814. The first recorded spelling of the family name is believed to be that of Ivo Faulder, which was dated 1332, in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Cumberland. This was during the reign of King Edward 111rd of England, known as 'The Father of the Navy", 1327-1377. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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