Wade is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin. 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".
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. The first recording of Wade as a surname is from this source. 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. 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).
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 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.
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/Forth.
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. 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.
Notable people and fictional characters with the surname
A to E
Abdoulaye Wade (born 1926), President of Senegal
April Wade, American actress and producer
Arthur C. Wade (1852–1914), American lawyer and politician
Arthur Edward Wade (1895–1989), British botanist, lichenologist and museum curator 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 (born 1970), American businessman
Bryan Wade (born 1963), English footballer
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
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
Edward Wade (1802–1866), American politician
F to J
Gale Wade (1929–2022), American baseball player
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