Wade (surname)
Wade is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin.[2] It is thought to derive from the Middle English given name "Wade," which itself derived from the pre-7th century Old English verb "wadan" (wada) meaning "to go," or as a habitational name from the Old English word "(ge)waed" meaning "ford."[4][5][6]
The East of England, the likely region of origin of the Wade surname | |
Pronunciation | we͡ɪd |
---|---|
Origin | |
Word/name | Middle English, Old English |
Meaning | "To go," "Ford" |
Region of origin | England East Anglia |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Waide, Waid, Wayde, Wadey, De la Wade, Waad, Wadeson, Waidson, Waythe, MacWade, MacUaid, MacQuaid, Quaid[1][2][3] |
Origins and variants
The given name Wade, from which the surname may be derived, was first recorded in the "little" Domesday Book for Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in 1086 as "Wada", "Wade" and "Wado", owing its popularity to the legend of Wade, a sea-giant, who was dreaded and honored by the coastal tribes of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.[1] The first recording of Wade as a surname is from this source.[1] The Old English word "(ge)waed" meaning "ford," may either be a topographical name to denote someone who lived by a ford, or a locational name from a place known as Wade, such as "Wade" in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia in the East of England.[1] The surname is historically concentrated in the East of England, particularly in and around the counties of Suffolk and Essex, suggesting that this region may be the surname’s likely area of origin.
The first recorded spelling of the surname as "Wade" specifically, is shown to be that of Godwin Wade, dated 1166 in the "Pipe Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Henry II (1154–1189).[1]
The official use of surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation.[7] Until the gradual standardization of English spelling in the last few centuries, English lacked any comprehensive system of spelling. Consequently, spelling variations in names are frequently found in early Anglo-Saxon and later Anglo-Norman documents, meaning that a person's name was often spelled several different ways over a lifetime. As such, different variations of the Wade surname usually have the same origin.[2]
Variants of this surname include Waide and Wadey, the latter a diminutive variant.[5] There is also a documented relationship between Wade and Waythe, the latter derived by a variant form of "wade" meaning a ford, that being "wath"; there is likewise a relationship between Wade/Waythe and Ford/Forth.[8]
Wade in Ireland
The Wade surname also spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, and this is evidenced by its presence in many medieval manuscripts in Ireland, Scotland and Wales.[3] In Ireland, the name is of English, Gaelic and Norman French origin, having been spread throughout the islands by Norman French settlers in the 13th century (De la Wade), and English settlers, particularly in the 17th century. The name was then gaelicized in many cases, becoming MacWade, MacUaid, MacQuaid and Quaid.[3]
Notable people and fictional characters with the surname
A to E
- Abdoulaye Wade (born 1926), President of Senegal
- Adam Wade (drummer) (born 1968), American drummer
- Adam Wade (singer) (born 1937), American singer, drummer and television actor
- Adam Wade (storyteller) American storyteller and actor
- April Wade, American actress and producer
- Ben Wade (1922–2002), American baseball player
- Ben Wade, character in the film 3:10 to Yuma
- Ben Wade, character in the film Key Largo
- Ben Wade (politician) (1883–1958), Australian politician
- Benjamin Wade (1800–1878), U.S. lawyer and United States senator
- Benjamin Wade (Survivor contestant) (born 1971), American reality television personality
- Bernie L. Wade (born 1963), American minister, President of the International Circle of Faith
- Bob Wade (artist) (1943–2019), American artist; born Robert Schrope Wade
- Bob Wade (basketball) (born 1944), American football player and basketball coach; born Robert Pernell Wade
- Bobby Wade (born 1981), professional American football wide receiver; born Robert Louis Wade, Jr.
- Betsy Wade (1929-2020), American journalist
- Brandon Wade (born 1970), American businessman
- Bryan Wade (born 1963), English footballer
- Charles Wade (1863–1922), Premier of New South Wales (1907–10)
- Charles Paget Wade (1883–1956), English architect and artist
- Charlie Wade (born 1963), American volleyball coach
- Charlie Wade (American football) (20th Century), American football wide receiver
- Chris Wade (comedian) (20th Century), English comedian
- Chris Wade (fighter) (born 1987), American mixed martial artist
- Chris Wade (real estate broker) (born 1945), American real estate broker involved in the Whitewater controversy
- Christopher Wade (died 1555), English Protestant martyr
- Christian Wade (born 1991), English rugby player & American football player
- Claude Martin Wade (1794–1861), British political officer in India and Afghanistan
- Cory Wade (born 1983), American Major League Baseball player
- David Wade (Louisiana general) (1911–1990), U.S. Army general, namesake of David Wade Correctional Center
- David Wade (politician) (born 1950), former South Australian politician
- Dallas Toler-Wade (born 1974), American musician
- Dean Wade (born 1996), American basketball player
- Don Wade (1928–2007), American football coach and college athletics administrator
- Donald Wade, Baron Wade (1904–1988), British Liberal Party politician
- Doug Wade (born 1941), former Australian rules footballer
- Dwyane Wade (born 1982), American basketball player
- Ed Wade (born 1956), baseball executive
- Eddie Wade (born 1948), Irish politician
- Edward Wade (1802–1866), American politician
- Wade Kelley (Born 2005] American Football Player/Divison High School
F to J
- George Wade (1673–1748) was a British military commander
- Henry Wade (1914–2001), Texas lawyer and lead defendant in Roe v. Wade
- Henry Wade, pen name of British mystery writer Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, 6th Baronet (1887–1969)
- Henry Wade (surgeon) (1876–1955), Scottish surgeon
- Herbert Wade (doctor) (1886–1968), American doctor and researcher on leprosy
- Herby Wade (1905–1980), South African cricketer
- Jack Wade (footballer) (1907–1941), Australian rules footballer
- Jack Wade (James Bond), a character in two James Bond films
- James Wade (born 1983), English darts player
- James Wade (basketball) (born 1975), American-French basketball coach
- James F. Wade (1843–1921), Spanish-American War general
- James P. Wade (born 1930), author, with Harlan K. Ullman, of the doctrine of strategic dominance, more popularly known as shock and awe
- Jamie Wade (born 1981), English cricketer
- Jim Wade (1925–2019), American football player
- Jimmy Wade (c.1895–1957), American jazz trumpeter and bandleader
- Jason Wade (born 1980), singer/songwriter
- Jennie Wade (1843–1863), the only civilian casualty in the Battle of Gettysburg
- Jeremy Wade (born 1956), British TV presenter (River Monsters) and fishing author
- Jessey Wade (c. 1861 – 1952), English suffragette and animal welfare campaigner
- Jim Wade (1925–2019), American football player
- Joe Wade (filmmaker) (21st Century), British filmmaker, TV writer and producer
- Joe Wade (footballer) (1921–2005), British footballer and manager
- Joe Wade (trade unionist) (1919–2004), British trade union leader
- John Wade (14th century), UK member of parliament for Lyme Regis in 1395
- John Wade (born 1893), American architect, designed the Buffalo City Hall
- John Wade (20th century), former Tennessee Commissioner of Tourist Development
- John Wade (American football) (born 1975), American football center
- John Wade (author) (1788–1875), British writer
- John Wade (miller) (1842 England–1931), Australian cornflour manufacturer
- John Wade (rower) (born 1928), American Olympic rower
- John Chipman Wade (1817–1892), Canadian lawer, politician
- John Donald Wade (1892–1963), American academic
- John Francis Wade (1711–1786), English hymnist
- John Wade (footballer) (1871–1937), professional English footballer
- Jonathan Wade (born 1984), professional American football cornerback
- Jonathan Wade (curler) (20th century), Australian curler
- Joseph Augustine Wade (1796–1845), Irish composer
- Joseph Marshall Wade (1832–1905), British-American publisher
- Josephine Wade (20th Century), American businesswoman and restaurant owner
- Julian Wade (born 1990), Dominican footballer
K to O
- Lloyd Wade, English gospel and soul singer, vocal coach
- Logan Wade (born 1991), Australian baseball player
- Mark Wade (born 1965), American retired basketball player
- Mark Wade, American space enthusiast and author who maintains Encyclopedia Astronautica
- Mark Wade (Ventriloquist), American Ventriloquist
- Mark Sweeten Wade (1858–1929), Canadian historian
- Martin Joseph Wade (1861–1931), U.S. Democratic Representative from Iowa
- Mary Wade (1777–1859), the youngest convict transported to Australia aboard the Lady Juliana
- Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade (1860–1936), American writer
- Mary Wade (paleontologist) (1928–2005), Australian paleontologist
- Matthew Wade (born 1987), Australian cricketer
- Michael Wade (Canadian actor) (1944–2004), Canadian actor, writer, musician
- Michael Wade (rugby union) (born 1937), English rugby union player
- Michael Wade (Trafalgar Park) (born 1954), British politician
- Michael J. Wade (20th century), American academic biologist
- Mickey Wade (21st century), musician credited on the American albums Letters and Seasons
- Mike Wade (20th century), guitarist and band leader for the original Australian cast recording of Jesus Christ Superstar
- Ned Wade (hurler) (1911–1992), Irish hurler
- Nicholas Wade (born 1942 in England), US science writer and author
- Nicholas J. Wade British vision researcher and historian of vision
- Oulton Wade, Baron Wade of Chorlton (1932–2018), British politician and businessman
P to T
- Paul Wade (born 1962), retired Australian footballer
- Peter Wade, British anthropologist
- Rachel Wade (born 1990), American murderer
- Rebekah Wade, English journalist
- Reg Wade, English footballer
- Robert Wade (born 1962), half of the British screenwriting duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade
- Robert Wade (chess player) (1921 New Zealand–2008), New Zealand and British chess player
- Robert Wade (cricketer) (born 1968), English cricketer
- Robert Wade (scholar) (born 1944 Australia), New Zealand development scholar
- Robert Wade (surgeon) (1798–1872), British surgeon
- Robert Wade (watercolour artist) (born 1930), Australian artist
- Robert E. Wade (born 1933), Canadian politician
- Robert F. Wade (20th century), Knights of Columbus executive
- Rosalind Wade (1909–1989), British novelist
- Scott Wade (born 1960), former Australian rules footballer
- Ted Wade (Australian footballer) (1884–1966), Australian rules footballer
- Ted Wade (footballer, born 1901) (1901–?), English football (soccer) player
- Silas A. Wade (1797–1869), American politician
- Terence Wade (1930–2005), English academic and linguist
- Thomas Wade, a fictional officer, industrial leader and Swordholder contender in Liu Cixin's Death's End (2010).
- Thomas Wade (Methodist), Irish Methodist
- Thomas Wade (North Carolina politician) (1720–1786), Revolutionary War officer and politician from North Carolina
- Thomas Wade (singer) (born 1961), Canadian country music artist
- Thomas Wade (writer) (1805–1875), English poet and dramatist
- Thomas Francis Wade (1818–1895), British diplomat and Sinologist
- Thomas James Wade (1893–1969), Roman Catholic bishop
- Thomas M. Wade (1860–1929), educator, politician, and civic leader from Louisiana
- Tom Wade (footballer) (1909–?), English footballer
- Tom Wade (cricketer) (1910–1987), English cricketer
- Tommy Wade (born 1942), American football player
- Tommy Wade (Australian footballer) (1894–1939), Australian rules footballer
U to Z
- Virginia Wade (born 1945), tennis player from the United Kingdom
- Wallace Wade (1892–1986), American college sports coach
- Wayne Wade (born 1959), Jamaican reggae musician
- Willoughby Francis Wade (1827–1906), British physician
Notes
- "Last name: Wade". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2018
- "Wade History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". houseofnames.com. Retrieved 3 July 2018
- "Wade Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Wade Family History". irishsurnames.com. Retrieved 6 July 2018
- Hanks, Patrick & Hodges, Flavia. A Dictionary of Surnames (Oxford University Press, 1988); s.v. Wade OCLC 18191308
- Harrison, Henry (2013). Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary. Assisted by Gyda Pulling (Reprint ed.). Genealogical Publishing Company. pp. 256–7. ISBN 9780806301716 – via Google Books.
- Lower, Mark Antony (1860). Patronymica Britannica: A Dictionary of the Family names of the United Kingdom. Great Britain: J. R. Smith. p. 368. OCLC 4118298 – via Internet Archive.
- "Last name: Wade". surnamedb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2018
- Bardsley, Charles Wareing (1901). A dictionary of English and Welsh surnames. Revised posthumously for the press by his Widow. Henry Frowde. p. 786. OCLC 867884157 – via Internet Archive.
Further reading
- Wade, Stuart Charles (1900). The Wade Genealogy. New York: Stuart C. Wade – via Internet Archive.