The ancestry of the name Childers dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in or near an orphanage; the location of the specific orphanage that gave rise to the surname Childers is not known in modern times. The surname Childers may have also been a nickname for an orphan, or an occupational name applied to someone who ran an orphanage. Further research showed the name was derived from the Old English word cildra-hus, which means children's house or orphanage.  Many variations of the name Childers have been found, including Childers, Childress, Childres and others.

In the United States, the name Childers is the 1,066th most popular surname with an estimated 27,357 people with that name.