Ward Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Ward Family History

Ward Family History

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

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 Ward include McWard, Warde, Wardman, Wordman, Wards and Warder. This name is of Celtic origin and is popular throughout England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in the above islands. Examples of such are a Robert le Warde, County Oxfordshire, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls' , England, in the year 1273 and a John de Ward was a tenant of the Earl of Douglas, in the Barony of Kilbucho, Scotland, in the year 1376. In Ireland they were professional and hereditary bards, one family being attached to the O'Donnells of Tirconnel and the other to the O'Kellys of Ui Maine. The latters territory was around the village that bears their name, Ballymacward and the former around the village of Lettermacaward. Like so many Gaelic families the Wards are still to be found near their original homeland to the present day.The Ward 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 Ward descendants.