Show ContentsWarde History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The name Warde reached England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. The name Warde is for a guard having derived from the Old English word ward, meaning guardian or watchman. 1 2

Early Origins of the Warde family

The surname Warde was first found in Northampton, where they held a family seat from ancient times, and the first on record was Osbert de Varde of Givendale in the year 1130, who was a descendant of Fouques de Vardes of Normandy. His descendent Simon Ward was Governor of Pontefract Castle in 1324. 3

John Warde is mentioned in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1194, while in the Hundred Rolls for 1273 there is a William le Warde in Oxford, a Simon le Ward in Buckinghamshire, and two further le Wardes, one in Hampshire and one in Cambridgeshire. 4

Some of the family were found at Barford in Warwickshire. "Barford was for three centuries the residence of the ancestors of Charles Thomas Warde, Esq., now of Clopton, in the county. Of this family was Rowley Warde, an eminent lawyer in the reigns of James and Charles I., commonly called Old Serjeant Warde, and in the parish register styled the Right Worshipful Rowley Warde; who died at the age of 96, about the year 1650. His son, Thomas Warde, barrister at law, served as an officer in the army of Charles at the battle of Edge Hill, and kept the royal flag flying on the top of the church tower here, facing his own house; which caused Cromwell's army after the battle, on its march to Kenilworth Castle, eight miles distant, to fire shots at the tower, the marks of which still remain. Among other relics [in the church of Barford] is a curious tablet of freestone, part of a monument, which the rector, the Rev. William Somerville, has had placed in the wall of the vestry, with this inscription: 'Here lyeth the body of Thomas Warde, Gentleman, parson of Barford, 2d son of Thomas and Martha Warde; he died in 1532.' " 5

Later the name was found further north in Scotland, where "John de Warde was a tenant of the earl of Douglas in the barony of Kilbucho, 1376. Robert Waird was burgess of Stirling in 1601." 6

Early History of the Warde family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Warde research. Another 147 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 1130, 1165, 1194, 1286, 1290, 1299, 1324, 1553, 1572, 1597, 1617, 1622, 1629, 1638, 1643, 1659, 1662, 1677, 1680, 1681, 1689, 1696, 1710, 1713, 1714, 1715, 1720, 1842, 1845 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Warde History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Warde Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Warde are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Warde include Ward, Warde, Varde and others.

Early Notables of the Warde family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

  • Andrew Warde (ca 1597-1659), a colonist, judge, farmer, and one of the founding fathers of the Connecticut towns of Weathersfield, Stamford, and Fairfield

Ireland Migration of the Warde family to Ireland

Some of the Warde family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 71 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 Warde migration to the United States +

Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Warde, or a variant listed above:

Warde Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Anne Warde, (Wadd), aged 15, who arrived in New England in 1637 aboard the ship "John & Dorothy"
  • William Warde, who landed in Virginia in 1664 7
  • Mathew Warde, aged 35, who arrived in Maryland in 1672 7
  • John Warde, who landed in Maryland in 1673 7
  • Christiana Warde, who landed in Maryland in 1674 7
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Warde migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Warde Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Patrick Warde, aged 40, a pensioner, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" from Galway, Ireland
  • Mary Warde, aged 30, who arrived in Saint John, New Brunswick in 1833 aboard the ship "Elizabeth" from Galway, Ireland

New Zealand Warde 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:

Warde Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Miss Margaret Warde, (b. 1847), aged 19, British domestic servant travelling from London aboard the ship "John Temperley" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 21st June 1866 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Warde (post 1700) +

  • Brigadier-General Fred Warde Llewellyn (1878-1955), American Assistant Judge Advocate-General of the Army (1941-1943) 9


The Warde Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Comme je fus
Motto Translation: As I was.


  1. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  2. Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
  3. The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
  4. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  5. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  6. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  7. 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)
  8. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  9. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, April 2) Fred Llewellyn. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Llewellyn/Fred_Warde/USA.html


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