Named after Frank E. Cudell, the neighborhood has been a part of Cleveland since 1904, upon the completion of municipal annexation of the land by the city.

Cudell is located on land which was originally the property of Franklin Reuben Elliott, a horticulturalist and fruit farmer.

[5][6] The land changed ownership multiple times before being purchased by Frank E. Cudell, an architect whose firm designed multiple buildings in Cleveland, including apartment buildings on W. 99th St.[7] Cudell also deeded a portion of land along West Blvd.

[8][9] Throughout the 20th century, Cudell was a working class neighborhood populated by workers from nearby factories.

[1] The majority of Cudell’s population resides in one- or two-family homes, with the exception of a concentration of apartments near the RTA Rapid Transit's West Boulevard–Cudell station.