Wardlaw is a first name and

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

origin. Wardlaw loosely translates to "watcher of the hill". The original Wardlaws resided in the

Scottish highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, hence "watch of the hill," where as Wardlows resided in the

Scottish lowlands The Lowlands ( sco, Lallans or ; gd, a' Ghalldachd, , place of the foreigners, ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Lowlands and the Highlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowl ...

. The modern placenames of Wardlaw stem from the old English combination of watch and mound hill. Those being weard ‘watch’ + hlāw ‘mound hill’. Other representations of Wardlaw throughout history are "Geard-hlaw", and "Wardelaue". Family Motto: "Famalias Firmat Pietas." ("Religion Strengthens Families.")

Origins

Wardlaw according to Playfair in his British Family Antiquity, Vol. VIII, published in 1811 is amongst the oldest in Scotland. The surname most likely traces it place of origin to Kirkhill, Highland within the

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

region. There the parish was formally called Wardlaw with origins tracing back to the 13th century. The first recordings of Wardlaw are said to have occurred around 1210 AD but the first certain recording appeared when " Henricus de Wardlaw was given a charter for half of the barony of Wiltone, in the county of Roxburgh." Though the surname appeared as Wardelaue.

Persons

* Alan Wardlaw (1887–1938), Australian politician * Barbara Wardlaw (contemporary), Canadian politician of the First Nations * Chris Wardlaw (born 1950), Australian long-distance runner *

Claude Wardlaw Claude Wilson Wardlaw (4 February 1901 – 16 December 1985) was a British botanist, who specialised in diseases of the banana.

(1901–1985), British botanist *

Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw Elizabeth, Lady Wardlaw (1677–1727) was a Scottish poet and the reputed author of the ballad ''Hardyknute''. Biography Elizabeth was born on 15 April 1677, the second daughter of Sir Charles Halket, baronet, of Pitfirran, Fife, and his wife Ja ...

(1677–1727), Scottish noblewoman and poet * Helen Wardlaw (born 1982), English cricketer *

Henry Wardlaw Henry Wardlaw (died 6 April 1440) was a Kingdom of Scotland, Scottish church leader, Bishop of St Andrews and founder of the University of St Andrews. Ancestors He was descended from an ancient Saxon family which came to Scotland with Edgar ...

(died 1440), Scottish church leader, Bishop of St Andrews, founder of the University of St Andrews * Iain Wardlaw (born 1985), Scottish cricketer * Jack Wardlaw (1937–2012), American journalist *

Jesse Wardlaw Jesse Tawhiao-Wardlaw (born 13 January 2000 in New Zealand), usually known as Jesse Wardlaw, is an Australian rules footballer playing for Brisbane in the AFL Women's competition (AFLW). Wardlaw plays as a key forward and led the Brisbane Lio ...

(born 2000), Australian rules footballer * Joanna Wardlaw (born 1958), Scottish physician, radiologist, and academic *

John Wardlaw-Milne Sir John Sydney Wardlaw-Milne (7 May 1879 – 11 July 1967) was a Scottish Conservative Party politician and a first-class cricketer. The son of a Scottish banker, Wardlaw-Milne spent the early part of his life in British India, where he became ...

(1879–1967), British politician for Kidderminster *

Kim McLane Wardlaw Kim McLane Wardlaw (born July 2, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as a U.S. circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit since 1998. She is the first Hispanic American woman to be appointed to a federal appeals ...

(born 1954), American jurist in the federal courts *

Lee Wardlaw Lee Wardlaw (born 20 November 1955) is the author of several children's books, such as '' 101 Ways to Bug Your Teacher'', '' 101 Ways to Bug Your Parents'', and ''See You In September''. In 2015, Wardlaw published ''Won Ton and Chopstick'' with ...

(contemporary), American author of children's books *

Ralph Wardlaw Ralph Wardlaw (22 December 1779 – 15 December 1853) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and writer. He was known as an abolitionist campaigner. Life He was born in Dalkeith, just south of Edinburgh, but his family moved to Glasgow when he w ...

(1779–1853), Scottish Presbyterian clergyman and writer * Robert Wardlaw (1889–1964), Australian politician from Tasmania *

Walter Wardlaw Walter Wardlaw (died ) was a 14th-century bishop of Glasgow in Scotland. Biography Wardlaw was the son of a Sir Henry Wardlaw of Torry, a middling knight of Fife. Before becoming bishop, Walter was a canon of Glasgow, a Master of Theology and ...

(died ''c.'' 1387), Scottish Bishop of Glasgow, uncle of Henry Wardlaw

Peerage

* Wardlaw baronets, a title in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia

Places

* Wardlaw-Hartridge school in

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

* Ward Law, hill with a Roman fort, near Shearington,

Dumfries & Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcu ...

* Wardlaw Museum, located in,

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

* Pitreavie Castle, bought by

in 1608. * Lochore Castle, one of the earliest Wardlaw places.

References

{{surname Scottish surnames