Ward (surname)
Ward is a popular Old English origin and Old Gaelic origin surname dating to before the Norman conquest of 1066 and Ireland, common in English-speaking countries.
The Old English name derives from an occupational surname for a civil guard/keeper of the watch, or alternately as a topographical surname from the word werd ("marsh"). The Old Gaelic surname derives from Mac an Bháird (“son of the Bard”), a bárd being a storyteller or poet. The two names are completely unrelated linguistically one being Germanic and the other Celtic. The oldest public record of the surname dates to 1176.[3]
In the 2010 United States Census, Ward was the 79th most common surname.[4] It is the 78th most common surname in Ireland.[5] It was the 31st most common surname in the 1991 UK census and 40th in 2001 census,[6] and in 2007, was found to be the most common surname in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.[7]
People with the surname include:
People with surname Ward
Disambiguation of common given names with this surname
- Alan Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Andrew Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Artemas Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Ben Ward (disambiguation) (various; also includes the forenames Bennie and Benjamin)
- Bill Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Charles Ward (disambiguation) (various including Charlie Ward and Chuck Ward)
- Chris Ward (disambiguation), (various)
- Darren Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- David Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Harry Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- James Ward (disambiguation) including:
- Jeff Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Jim Ward (disambiguation) including:
- Joel Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- John Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Lyman Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Mark Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Michael Ward (disambiguation)
- Nick Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Robert Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- Robin Ward (disambiguation)
- Tony Ward (disambiguation) (various)
- William Ward (disambiguation) (various)
Arts
- Algy Ward, English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer
- Bernard Evans Ward (1857–1933), painter
- Burt Ward, American actor on the television series Batman
- Clifford T. Ward, singer-songwriter
- Edward Matthew Ward, English painter
- Elizabeth Ward Gracen, American actor and 1982 Miss America winner
- Fred Ward, American actor
- Gemma Ward, Australian supermodel and actor
- Helen Ward (singer) (1913–1998), American singer
- Henry Snowden Ward (1865–1911), English photographer
- Hugh J. Ward (1871–1941) American comic actor with career in Australia
- Jay Ward, American creator and producer of animated television cartoons
- Jennifer Ward (journalist) (born 1957), Canadian news anchor
- Jillian Ward, Filipina child actress
- Jonathan Ward (actor), American actor
- Lance Ward, cartoonist
- Leslie Ward, British caricaturist
- Luca Ward, Italian actor and dubber
- M. Ward, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- Monica Ward, Italian actress and dubber
- Patrick Ward (actor), actor
- Patrick Ward (photographer)
- Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time
- Rachel Ward (born 1957), British/Australian actress
- Roger Ward, Australian actor
- Scooter Ward, Songwriter, musician
- Sela Ward, American actress, author, and producer
- Selwyn Ward, American actor
- Shayne Ward, British singer, 2005 winner of The X Factor
- Simon Ward, British actor
- Singin' Sammy Ward, American rhythm and blues singer
- Sophie Ward, British actor and daughter of actor Simon Ward
- Susan Ward, American actor
- Zack Ward, Canadian actor
Humanities
- Adolphus William Ward (1837–1924), English historian
- Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, British economist and writer
- Geoffrey Ward, American historian
- Keith Ward, British cleric, philosopher, theologian and scholar
- Mary Augusta Ward, British author and social reformer who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward
- May Alden Ward (1853-1918), American author
Politics and military
- Aaron Ward (representative) (1790–1867), US Congressman from New York
- Aaron Ward (sailor), US admiral
- Alfred Dudley Ward, British Army officer
- Arnold Ward, British journalist and politician
- Daniel P. Ward, American jurist
- Ebenezer Ward MLC (1837–1917), South Australian politician
- Eddie Ward MHR (1899–1963), Australian politician
- Elisha Ward (1804–1860), New York politician
- Frederick Townsend Ward, American mercenary
- George F. Ward (born 1945), former United States ambassador to Namibia
- George Reginald Ward, 1st Viscount Ward of Witley (1907–1988), British politician
- James Allen Ward, VC, New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross
- James Kewley Ward, Canadian lumber merchant and politician
- John Ward (Medal of Honor), black Seminole Army Indian Scout Medal of Honor Winner
- Jonathan Ward (New York), US Congressman from New York
- Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of New Zealand 1906–1912 and 1928–1930
- Lafe Ward, American lawyer and politician
- Mark Ward (politician), Irish Sinn Féin politician
- Orlando Ward, American general
- Pat Ward, Iowa State Senator
- Peter J. Ward, Irish politician
- Ward family, Earls of Dudley and Barons Ward
Sciences
- Henry Augustus Ward (1834–1906), American naturalist
- Henry Baldwin Ward (1865-1945), American zoologist
- Lesley Ward, Australian mathematician
- Lester Frank Ward, American biologist and sociologist
- Mary Ward (scientist), Irish multidisciplinary scientist
- Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, inventor of the Wardian case
- Neil B. Ward, American atmospheric scientist and first scientific storm chaser
- Morgan Ward (1901–1963), American mathematician
- Peter Ward (paleontologist), evolutionary biologist
Sports
- Aaron Ward, hockey player
- Andre Ward, American boxer
- Ashley Ward, English footballer
- Brennan Ward (born 1988), American mixed martial artist
- Brent Ward, New Zealand Rugby union player
- Callan Ward (born 1990), Australian footballer
- Cam Ward (born 1984), hockey goaltender
- Charvarius Ward (born 1996), American football player
- Danny Ward (born 1993), Welsh football player
- Daryle Ward, baseball player
- Dave Ward (rugby union) (born 1985), English rugby union player
- Dennis Ward (rugby league), Australian rugby league footballer
- Denzel Ward (born 1997), American football player
- Derrick Ward (born 1980), American football player
- Duane Ward, baseball player
- Elliott Ward, English footballer
- Francis Ward (born 1900), New Zealand Rugby union player
- Frederick Ward, English football manager
- Gary Ward (baseball) (born 1940), American college baseball coach
- Garry Ward, rugby league footballer of the 1980s
- Greg Ward Jr. (born 1995), American football player
- Helen Ward (born 1986), Welsh association footballer
- Hines Ward (born 1976), American football player
- Holcombe Ward, American tennis player
- James Ward (tennis), English tennis player
- Jason Ward, Canadian hockey player
- Jihad Ward (born 1994), American football player
- Joanne Ward (born 1974), British tennis player
- JoJo Ward (born 1997), American football player
- Kenny Ward, Scottish footballer
- Lance Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
- Laurie Ward, Australian rugby league footballer
- Lorenzo Ward (born 1967), American football coach
- Paul John Ward (born 1964), British motorcycle racer
- Leslie Ward (cricketer), English cricketer
- Matt Ward (lacrosse), American lacrosse player
- McLain Ward, Olympic equestrian
- Micky Ward (born 1965), American boxer
- Mitchell Ward, American football player
- Natalie Ward (born 1975), Australian softball player
- Pat Ward (footballer) (1926–2003), Scottish footballer
- Rebecca Ward, American olympic saber fencer
- Robbie Ward, English rugby league footballer
- Rodger Ward, American racecar driver
- Steve Ward (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player
- T. J. Ward, American football defensive back
- Terron Ward, American football player
- Tyler Ward, All-Around American Athlete (2012)
- Vanessa Ward, Australian high jumper
Other
- Adam Ward, photojournalist murdered on television along with a colleague in 2015
- Ann Ward Fashion model
- Hansford Ward born John Ralph Hansford Ward (1817–1903), ship owner and captain in South Australia
- Mary Ward (nun), English foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Mary Ward (nurse), nurse and significant figure in the history of the English canal system
- Philip Henry Ward Jr. (1886–1963), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Sally Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong Downs, also known as Sallie Ward, (1827-1896), American socialite.
- Stephen Ward, British doctor involved in the Profumo affair
- Tracy Posner Ward, wife of Burt Ward, daughter of Victor Posner
Fictional characters
- Charles Ward, an H.P. Lovecraft character
- J.D. Ward, main antagonist from High Noon, Part II: The Return of Will Kane
- Luke Ward, character in the television program, The OC
- Mycroft Ward, main antagonist from The Raw Shark Texts
- Thomas J. Ward, main protagonist from The Wardstone Chronicles
- Victor Ward, main character of the Bret Easton Ellis novel Glamorama
- Vivian Ward, title character in the film Pretty Woman
- Fleet Admiral H.T Ward, minor character in the Halo Series
- Grant Ward, character in the television show Agents of SHIELD
- Risa Ward, a main character in the book series Unwind
References
- Mosley, Charles, ed. (2003). Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood (107 ed.). Burke's Peerage & Gentry. p. 241. ISBN 0-9711966-2-1.
- Crozier, William Armstrong (1904). Crozier's General Armory: A Registry of American Families Entitled to Coat Armor. Genealogical association. p. 132. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- "Surname: Ward". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 2008-02-12.
- "Frequently Occurring Surnames from the 2010 Census". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- "100 Irish surnames explained". IrelandInformation.com.
- Buchhorn, Wolfgang. "Names and That - Ward/Wards". www.lostancestors.eu.
- "The 50 most common British surnames, by postal town" (PDF). The Guardian. 15 April 2007. Retrieved 6 July 2017.