Show ContentsAgard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Agard originated with the Anglo-Saxon tribes that once ruled Britain. It is derived from the ancient personal name Eggar.

Early Origins of the Agard family

The surname Agard was first found in Lancashire in the north of England, where they held a family seat from ancient times, but from about the 13th century moved south to Foston in Derbyshire, and Sudbury, in the same county.

Early History of the Agard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Agard research. Another 53 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1516, 1540, 1613, 1615, 1627 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Agard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Agard Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Agard has appeared include Agard, Aggard, Aegard, Agart, Aggart, Egard and many more.

Early Notables of the Agard family

Distinguished members of the family include

  • Mabel Agard of Foston; and Étienne Agard de Champs (Dechamps) (1613-1701), a French Jesuit theologian and author
  • Arthur Agard or Agarde (1540-1615), was a distinguished antiquary and deputy-chamberlain in the Exchequer, was descended from an ancient Derbyshire family. He was born at Foston in 1540 and was probab...

Ireland Migration of the Agard family to Ireland

Some of the Agard family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 69 words (5 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Agard migration to the United States +

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Agard arrived in North America very early:

Agard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Edward Agard, who settled in Virginia in 1640
  • Edward Agard was one of the earliest settlers in the New World, being recorded in Virginia in the year 1640
  • Edward Agard, who arrived in Virginia in 1640 [1]

Contemporary Notables of the name Agard (post 1700) +

  • David A. Agard Ph.D., American Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, Member, National Academy of Sciences (USA, 2007)
  • Kieran Ricardo Agard (b. 1989), English footballer who plays for Bristol City
  • Robert Mason Agard, American Librarian of the Library of Congress and Author
  • John Agard (b. 1949), Afro-Guyanese playwright, poet, and children's writer from Guyana, awarded the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry in 2012
  • Ernesto Agard (b. 1937), Panamanian basketball player at the 1968 Summer Olympics
  • Henry Agard Wallace (1888-1965), American politician, Candidate for Democratic nomination for Vice President, 1944; U.S. Secretary of Commerce, 1945-46; Progressive Candidate for President of the United States, 1948 [2]


  1. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  2. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 11) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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