McQuaid Coat of Arms, Family Crest and McQuaid Family History

McQuaid Family History

The family history of the ancient name McQuaid was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name McQuaid include Wade, McQuade and McWade. MacUaid is the form of this name used in Irish and the latter variants are the anglicized forms of this. This name has long been well known in County Monaghan which is its principal location today. It appeared in the 'Hearth Money Rolls' for County Monaghan and County Armagh from 1664 to 1667, as MacQuaid, MacQuade, and MacQuoad. Notable bearers of the name are Bernard John MacQuaid, 1823-1909, first Bishop of Rochester, USA, whose parents were Irish emigrants and the Rev. Charles MacQuaid who was late Archbishop of Dublin. The variant Wade or McWade is found in Oriel Country where they have been on record since the thirteenth century.The McQuaid family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including McQuaid descendants.