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Gard History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Gard History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

When the Stongbow settlers arrived in Ireland, they quickly learned that the Irish had a pre-established system of hereditary surnames. The name Gard is an occupational surname, which was primarily from the Anglo-Norman culture. There were a few Irish occupational names, however, previous to the arrival of the Strongbownians, so this Anglo-Norman tradition was not too incongruous within the island. Occupational surnames were derived from a word describing the actual job done by the initial name bearer. The Strongbownians frequently prefixed these names with the French word le, meaning the, but this custom quickly died out in Ireland. The surname Gard came from a common occupational name for a valued military officer. The surname Gard is derived from the expression Unicus Est. According to tradition, during the bitter 13th century feuds between the two powerful Anglo-Norman families of the Fitzgeralds and the Butlers, a Commander who sought help to secure a position pointed to a particularly valued captain and said Unicus Est, which means Hei is the only one to undertake this service. The name Garde was also used as a synonym.

Early Origins of the Gard family

The surname Gard was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where they held a family seat from ancient times, soon after the Anglo Norman Conquest of Ireland by Strongbow in 1172 A.D. That this family name were Norman mercenaries seems reasonably clear. In the bitter 13th century feuds between the Fitzgeralds and the Butlers it is said that a commander, seeking help to secure a position, pointed to one of the captains and said, 'Unicus Est', meaning 'He is the only one to undertake this service'. Hence this expression not only became the family motto but it also became the basis and origin of the family name itself, Uniacke. Later some used Gard as a synonym.

Early History of the Gard family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gard research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the year 1976 is included under the topic Early Gard History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gard Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials often spelled the name Gard as it sounded to them. As a result, the name Gard, over the ages, has attained many spelling variations including Uniacke, Uniake, Uniack, Uniak, Garde, Gard and others.

Early Notables of the Gard family

More information is included under the topic Early Gard Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gard Ranking

In the United States, the name Gard is the 8,058^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1 However, in France, the name Gard is ranked the 5,614^th most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 2

Gard migration to the United States +

In the mid-19th century, Ireland experienced one of the worst periods in its entire history. During this decade in order to ease the pressure of the soil, which was actually depleted by the effects of the previous years' grain crops, landowners forced tenant farmers and peasants onto tiny plots of land that barely provided the basic sustenance a family required. Conditions were worsened, though, by the population of the country, which was growing fast to roughly eight million. So when the Great Potato Famine of the mid-1840s hit, starvation and diseases decimated the population. Thousands of Irish families left the country for British North America and the United States. The new immigrants were often accommodated either in the opening western frontiers or as cheap unskilled labor in the established centers. In early passenger and immigration lists there are many immigrants bearing the name Gard:

Gard Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Margaret Gard, aged 24, who landed in Virginia in 1635 3
Miss Margaret Gard, (b. 1611), aged 24, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Safety" arriving in Virginia in 1635 4

Gard Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Robert Gard, who landed in Virginia in 1700 3

Gard Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Juan Gard, aged 57, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
Manuel G Gard, aged 8, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1829 3
Peter Gard, who arrived in Indiana in 1840 3
Q J Gard, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 3
Miss Gard, who arrived in America in 1856 3

Gard migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gard Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Thomas Bennett Gard, English convict from Wiltshire, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on July 3, 1822, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 5
William Gard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cleveland" in 1839 6
Elizabeth Gard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cleveland" in 1839 6
Thomas Gard, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Cressy" in 1847 7
Richard Gard, aged 18, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Lord Raglan" 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Gard migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gard Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mr. J. Gard, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship 'Merchantman' arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand and Auckland New Zealand on 6th September 1855 9
Frederic Gard, aged 24, a farm labourer, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ocean Mail" in 1875
William George Gard, aged 25, a plasterer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875
Sarah A. Gard, aged 21, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rodney" in 1875
Miss Edith Louisa Gard, (b. 1859), aged 18, Cornish general servant departing on 31st July 1877 aboard the ship "Otaki" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 4th November 1877 10

Contemporary Notables of the name Gard (post 1700) +

Major-General Robert Gibbins Gard (1899-1983), American Commanding General VII Corps (1957-1959) 11
Warren Gard (1873-1929), American Democratic Party politician, Common Pleas Court Judge in Ohio, 1907-12; U.S. Representative from Ohio 3rd District, 1913-21; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Ohio, 1924, 1928 12
Thomas Gard, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 2000 12
Seth Gard (1775-1845), American politician, Delegate to Illinois State Constitutional Convention from Edwards County, 1818 12
Oliver Gard, American Republican politician, Chair of Clinton County Republican Party, 1905 12
Nancy Gard, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1948 12
Jess Gard, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Oregon, 1960 12
Beverly Gard, American Republican politician, Presidential Elector for Indiana, 2000 12
Robert Joseph Gard OBE (1927-2021), British-born Australian operatic tenor from Cornwall, a leading singer with Opera Australia
Ms. Caroline Janet Gard B.E.M., British recipient of Medallist of the British Empire Medal 29th December 2018 for services to Young People and to Charity 13
... (Another 5 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Gard family +

Empress of Ireland

Mr. Johannes Gard (1869-1914), Norwegian Third Class Passenger from Stavanger, Norway who survived the sinking on the Empress of Ireland 14

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
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)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's. Retrieved October 5th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1822 with 155 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1822
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CLEVELAND 1839. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1839Cleveland.htm
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) CRESSY 1847. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1847Cressy.htm
South Australian Register Friday February 7th, 1856. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) Lord Raglan 1856. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/lordraglan1856.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to Auckland 1872-80 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/new_zealand_assisted.pdf
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 5) Robert Gard. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Gard/Robert_Gibbins/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
"Birthday and New Year Honours Lists (1940 to 2019)." Issue 62507, 28 December 2018 | London Gazette, The Gazette, Dec. 2018, www.thegazette.co.uk/honours-lists
Commemoration Empress of Ireland 2014. (Retrieved 2014, June 16) . Retrieved from http://www.empress2014.ca/seclangen/listepsc1.html