How do I found out what my surname means?

Question:

How do I found out what my surname means?

my surname is Crowder and when I was little my grandad told me it was irish for fiddler player, I can't find anything to support this. How do I find out what my surname actually means or where it came from?

Best Answer - Chosen by Asker: If you go to the www.searchforancestors.com site it tells you that Crowder is a variation of Crowther.

This is what it says about Crowther:

Crowther Surname Origin
(Welsh) A harper, a musician; from crwth, a harp, a Scandinavian fiddle. Gaelic, cruit.