Wade is a

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 ...

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

origin. Retrieved 3 July 2018 It is thought to derive from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

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 Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Origins and variants

The given name Wade, from which the surname may be derived, was first recorded in the "little"

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

for

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

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 The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian S ...

and the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...

. Retrieved 3 July 2018 The first recording of Wade as a surname is from this source. Retrieved 3 July 2018 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 East Anglia is an area in the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, a people whose name originated in Anglia, in ...

in the

East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire ...

. Retrieved 3 July 2018 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). Retrieved 3 July 2018 The official use of surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. 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 Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 10 ...

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. Retrieved 3 July 2018 Variants of this surname include Waide and Wadey, the latter a diminutive variant. 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 Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

/Forth.

Wade in Ireland

The Wade surname also spread throughout the rest of the

British Isles The British Isles are a group of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Northern Isles, ...

, and this is evidenced by its presence in many medieval manuscripts in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

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 ...

and

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. Retrieved 6 July 2018 In Ireland, the name is of English,

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

and

Norman French Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

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 Gaelicisation, or Gaelicization, is the act or process of making something Gaelic, or gaining characteristics of the ''Gaels'', a sub-branch of celticisation. The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group, traditionally viewed as having spread from Irel ...

in many cases, becoming MacWade, MacUaid, MacQuaid and Quaid. Retrieved 6 July 2018

Notable people and fictional characters with the surname

A to E

Abdoulaye Wade Abdoulaye Wade (born 29 May 1926)
Encyclopedia of the Nations. Retrieved February 28, ...

(born 1926), President of Senegal * April Wade, American actress and producer * Arthur C. Wade (1852–1914), American lawyer and politician * Barrington Wade (born 1998), American football player * Ben Wade (1922–2002), American baseball player * Bernie L. Wade (born 1963), American minister, President of the International Circle of Faith * Betsy Wade (1929-2020), American journalist *

Brandon Wade Brandon Wade (born Lead Wey; 1970) is an American businessman who is the founder and chief executive officer of InfoStream Group, an online dating company. He is a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and MIT Sloan School o ...

(born 1970), American businessman *

Bryan Wade Bryan Wade (born 25 June 1963) is an ex-English professional footballer who played as a centre forward for Swindon Town, Swansea City and Brighton & Hove Albion. During the 1988-89 English football season Wade received a three match ban fo ...

(born 1963), English footballer * Christian Wade (born 1991), English rugby player & American football player *

Claude Martin Wade Colonel Sir Claude Martine Wade CB (3 April 1794 – 21 October 1861) was a British soldier who was Agent to the Governor-General for the Affairs of the Punjab and North-West Frontier, 1823–1840.Cory Wade Cory Nathaniel Wade (born May 28, 1983) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball with the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees. Amateur career Wade attended Broad Ripple High School. W ...

(born 1983), American Major League Baseball player *

Dallas Toler-Wade Dallas Toler-Wade (born June 6, 1974) is an American musician, best known for his work in the ancient Egyptian-themed technical death metal band Nile. He is currently the guitarist, lead vocalist and primary songwriter of the metal band Narc ...

(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 Donald William Wade, Baron Wade, DL (16 June 1904 – 6 November 1988) was a British solicitor who became a Liberal Party Member of Parliament. Wade's time in Parliament coincided with the time the Liberals were at their lowest ebb but his job ...

(1904–1988), British Liberal Party politician *

Doug Wade Douglas Graeme Wade (born 16 October 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club and North Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He was the League's leading goal scorer ( ...

(born 1941), former Australian rules footballer * Dwyane Wade (born 1982), American basketball player * Edward Wade (1802–1866), American politician

F to J

* Gale Wade (1929-2022), American baseball player *

George Wade Field Marshal George Wade (1673 – 14 March 1748) was a British Army officer who served in the Nine Years' War, War of the Spanish Succession, Jacobite rising of 1715 and War of the Quadruple Alliance before leading the construction of bar ...

(1673–1748) was a British military commander *

Henry Wade Henry Menasco Wade (November 11, 1914 – March 1, 2001) was an American lawyer who served as district attorney of Dallas County from 1951 to 1987. He participated in two notable U.S. court cases of the 20th century: the prosecution of Jack Ru ...

(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 Major Sir Henry Lancelot Aubrey-Fletcher, 6th Baronet (10 September 1887 – 30 May 1969), also known by his pen name Henry Wade, was Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire from 1954 to 1961. He was also one of the leading authors during the Golden ...

(1887–1969) *

Henry Wade (surgeon) Sir Henry Wade PRCSE FRSE DSO CMG (18 December 1876 – 21 February 1955) was a Scottish military and urological surgeon. He was elected president of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1935. His collection of anatomical specimens (ma ...

(1876–1955), Scottish surgeon *

Herbert Wade (doctor) Herbert Windsor Wade (born Haddonfield, New Jersey, November 23, 1886; died Culion, Philippines, June 8, 1968) was an American medical doctor notable for his work on leprosy. He served as Medical Director of the Culion leper colony from 1922 to 1 ...

(1886–1968), American doctor and researcher on leprosy * Herby Wade (1905–1980), South African cricketer *

James Wade James Martin Wade (born 6 April 1983) is an English professional darts player, currently playing in the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC). He became the youngest player to win a major PDC title, when he won the 2007 World Matchplay at the ...

(born 1983), English darts player *

Jason Wade Jason Michael Wade (born July 5, 1980) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and guitarist of the alternative rock band Lifehouse. Career Lifehouse At the age of 15, Wade co-founded Lifehouse (originally called Blyss) wit ...

(born 1980), singer/songwriter * Jennie Wade (1843–1863), the only civilian casualty in the Battle of Gettysburg *

Jeremy Wade Jeremy John Wade (born 23 March 1956) is an English television presenter, an author of books on angling, a freshwater detective, and a biologist. He is known for his television series ''River Monsters'', ''Mighty Rivers'', and ''Dark Waters''. He ...

(born 1956), British TV presenter (''River Monsters'') and fishing author *

Jessey Wade Jessey Wade (2 December 1859 – 1952) was an English suffragist and campaigner for animal welfare, known for founding the Cats Protection League (now known as Cats Protection). She co-founded a number of other animal welfare organisations and he ...

( – 1952), English suffragette and animal welfare campaigner * Jim Wade (1925–2019), American football player * John Wade, several people *

Joivan Wade Joivan Wade ( ; born 23 July 1993) is an English actor known for playing Manyou in the BBC comedy television series '' Big School'', Jordan Johnson on the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'', and Victor Stone/Cyborg in the HBO Max series ''Doom Pa ...

(born 1993), British actor * Julian Wade (born 1990), Dominican footballer *

Julie Marie Wade Julie Marie Wade (born 1979) is an American writer and professor of creative writing. Wade has received numerous awards for her writing, most notably winning the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Memoir or Biography in 2011 for her book ''Wishbon ...

(born 1979), American writer and professor or writing

K to O

* LaMonte Wade Jr. (born 1994), American baseball player * Lillian Wade (1870–1923), British sculptor * Lloyd Wade, English gospel and soul singer, vocal coach * Logan Wade (born 1991), Australian baseball player * Mark Wade (born 1965), American retired basketball player * 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 Matthew Scott Wade (born 26 December 1987) is an Australian cricketer. He has represented the Australian national team as wicket-keeper and batsman in all three forms of international cricket. He plays domestic cricket for the Tasmanian cricke ...

(born 1987), Australian cricketer *

Morgan Wade (singer) Morgan Dealie Wade (born December 10, 1994) is an American country music singer. Active since 2018, she has released one album on Thirty Tigers in 2021. Biography Morgan Wade is a native of Floyd, Virginia. She began writing songs as a freshman i ...

(1995-), American singer * Ned Wade (hurler) (1911–1992), Irish hurler *

Nicholas Wade Nicholas Michael Landon Wade (born 17 May 1942) is a British author and journalist. He is the author of numerous books, and has served as staff writer and editor for ''Nature'', ''Science'', and the science section of ''The New York Times''. ...

(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 William Oulton Wade, Baron Wade of Chorlton, (24 December 1932 – 7 June 2018) was a British politician, businessman and agriculturalist. Wade was educated at Birkenhead School and the Queen's University of Belfast. He was an elected member ...

(1932–2018), British politician and businessman

P to T

Paul Wade Paul Wade (born 20 March 1962) is an Australian retired soccer player, who is best known for his long-term role as captain of the Socceroos, Australia's national soccer team. Club career Born in Cheshire, England, Wade moved to Australia w ...

(born 1962), retired Australian footballer *

Peter Wade Peter Wade is a British anthropologist who specialises in issues of race and ethnicity in Latin America. Peter Wade is a Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , establ ...

, British anthropologist *

Rachel Wade Rachel Marie Wade (born February 27, 1990) is an American woman who was convicted of murder in the second degree in the 2009 murder of Sarah Ludemann in Pinellas Park, Florida. Rivalry with Sarah Ludemann Rachel Wade and Sarah Ludemann were rom ...

(born 1990), American murderer *

Rebekah Wade Rebekah Mary Brooks (; born 27 May 1968) is a British media executive and former journalist and newspaper editor. She has been chief executive officer of News UK since 2015. She was previously CEO of News International from 2009 to 2011 and w ...

, English journalist * Reg Wade, English footballer * Robert Wade (disambiguation), multiple people *

Rosalind Wade Rosalind Wade OBE ( pen name, Catharine Carr; 1909-1989) was a British novelist and short story writer. She was also the editor of ''The Contemporary Review'' for almost twenty years. Biography Born on 11 September 1909, Rosalind Herschel Wade ...

(1909–1989), British novelist *

Scott Wade Scott Wade (born 10 January 1960) is a former Australian rules football player and administrator, most notable for his sixteen-year tenure at AFL Tasmania. He played for Hawthorn Football Club, Hawthorn in the Australian Football League, Victor ...

(born 1960), former Australian rules footballer * Ted Wade (disambiguation), multiple people *

Shaun Wade (disambiguation) Shaun Wade (also Sean) may refer to: * Sean Wade (born 1966), New Zealand long-distance runner * Shaun Wade (footballer) (born 1969), English footballer * Shaun Wade (American football) (born 1998), American football player {{hndis, Wade, Shau ...

, multiple people * Sidney Wade (born 1951), American poet * Stephen Wade (Born 1960), Australian politician * Silas A. Wade (1797–1869), American politician * Terence Wade (1930–2005), English academic and linguist * Thomas Wade (disambiguation), multiple people *

Tyler Wade Tyler Dean Wade (born November 23, 1994) is an American professional baseball utility player in the Oakland Athletics organization. He made his Major League Baseball debut for the New York Yankees in 2017 and has also played in MLB for the Los An ...

(born 1994), American baseball player

U to Z

Virginia Wade Sarah Virginia Wade (born 10 July 1945) is a British former professional tennis player. She won three Major tennis singles championships and four major doubles championships, and is the only British woman in history to have won titles at all ...

(born 1945), tennis player from the United Kingdom *

Wallace Wade William Wallace Wade (June 15, 1892 – October 7, 1986) was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the University of Alabama fro ...

(1892–1986), American college sports coach *

Wayne Wade Wayne Wade (born 19 March 1959) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter and musician. Biography Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Wade attended Excelsior High School from 1972 to 1976. His career began in the mid-1970s, working with Yabby You, 1976's "B ...

(born 1959), Jamaican reggae musician * Willoughby Francis Wade (1827–1906), British physician