Language & meaning
Meaning & Irish forms
Gaelic & English (merged) Gaelic Irish Mac an Bhaird, from families of professional poets, merged in English with the unrelated English occupational surname Ward.[1][2][3]
The name is built on the personal name bard, usually explained as “a poet; in Irish bárd”. Mac an Bhaird is built on an occupation rather than a personal name. Wikipedia describes the bard as a storyteller or poet, and the families who bore the name were hereditary poets to Gaelic lords.[1][2][3]
Pronunciation
Ward: WAWD (British), WORD (American)
Place
Where the Wards lived
How common the name was in each county, as a share of the population, in the three surviving full censuses of Ireland. Use the buttons to compare years.
Share of each county's census population. 1926 covers the 26 counties of the Irish Free State only.
Highest concentration · 1901
Donegal
93 per 10,000
1,607 Wards · 4.31× the national share
Highest share, 1901
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
Highest concentration · 1911
Donegal
93 per 10,000
1,573 Wards · 4.34× the national share
Highest share, 1911
Per 10,000 residents. A concentration index above 1 means the name was commoner there than nationally.
County figures as a table
| County | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Per 10k 1901 | Per 10k 1911 | Per 10k 1926 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Antrim | 473 | 533 | — | 10 | 11 | — |
| Armagh | 142 | 94 | — | 11 | 8 | — |
| Carlow | 32 | 51 | 65 | 9 | 14 | 19 |
| Cavan | 141 | 118 | 71 | 15 | 13 | 9 |
| Clare | 75 | 80 | 82 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| Cork | 222 | 212 | 194 | 6 | 5 | 5 |
| Donegal | 1,607 | 1,573 | 1,356 | 93 | 93 | 89 |
| Down | 492 | 504 | — | 17 | 17 | — |
| Dublin | 1,067 | 1,138 | 1,197 | 24 | 24 | 24 |
| Fermanagh | 53 | 64 | — | 8 | 11 | — |
| Galway | 1,053 | 1,007 | 998 | 55 | 55 | 59 |
| Kerry | 9 | 11 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Kildare | 140 | 191 | 162 | 23 | 29 | 28 |
| Kilkenny | 75 | 78 | 60 | 10 | 10 | 9 |
| Laois | 66 | 61 | 82 | 12 | 11 | 16 |
| Leitrim | 279 | 254 | 222 | 40 | 40 | 39 |
| Limerick | 237 | 243 | 220 | 16 | 17 | 16 |
| Londonderry | 168 | 184 | — | 12 | 13 | — |
| Longford | 202 | 198 | 194 | 43 | 45 | 49 |
| Louth | 259 | 255 | 251 | 40 | 41 | 40 |
| Mayo | 321 | 340 | 320 | 16 | 18 | 19 |
| Meath | 296 | 297 | 282 | 42 | 46 | 45 |
| Monaghan | 587 | 431 | 476 | 79 | 60 | 73 |
| Offaly | 85 | 83 | 80 | 14 | 15 | 15 |
| Roscommon | 353 | 379 | 372 | 35 | 40 | 45 |
| Sligo | 149 | 152 | 180 | 19 | 19 | 25 |
| Tipperary | 106 | 105 | 71 | 7 | 7 | 5 |
| Tyrone | 277 | 271 | — | 18 | 19 | — |
| Waterford | 42 | 46 | 31 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Westmeath | 345 | 282 | 221 | 56 | 47 | 39 |
| Wexford | 83 | 87 | 54 | 8 | 9 | 6 |
| Wicklow | 103 | 107 | 90 | 17 | 18 | 16 |
Local strongholds in 1911
District Electoral Divisions (300+ residents) where Wards made up the largest share of the population. In Lough Eask, Co. Donegal, about one resident in 7 was a Ward.
| DED | County | Wards | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lough Eask | Donegal | 62 | 14.3% |
| Graffy | Donegal | 119 | 11.7% |
| Rutland | Donegal | 342 | 10.9% |
| Haugh | Donegal | 45 | 10.6% |
| Grange | Galway | 46 | 9.6% |
| Cattan | Leitrim | 66 | 7.4% |
| Mullaghslin | Tyrone | 65 | 7.0% |
| Glenleheen | Donegal | 59 | 6.9% |
Origins
Septs & territories
Many Irish surnames were adopted independently by unrelated families. These are the distinct Ward lineages described in the sources.
A surname can point you towards a place. On its own, it cannot establish a pedigree.
Mac an Bhaird of Uí Maine
Muine Chasáin, in the parish of Ballymacward · Galway
Poets to the O'Kellys of Uí Maine, seated at Muine Chasáin and Ballymacward. Wikipedia treats this as the parent family of all the Mac an Bhaird lines and says they also served the O'Conors. Leabhar Ua Maine, compiled about 1380, gives them twenty-four generations and calls them chiefs of Cinél Rechta.[1][3][5]
Mac an Bhaird of Tír Chonaill
around Lettermacaward and in Tirhugh · Donegal
Bards to the O'Donnells and, by the 15th century, the most numerous branch of the family. Wikipedia says they supplied some of Ireland's finest bardic poets, and names Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird, head of the branch in the early 17th century, as erenagh of the church lands of Lettermacaward.[1][3][6]
Mac an Bhaird of Oriel
near Farney · Monaghan
Woulfe names a third historical family in Oriel. Wikipedia places it near Farney and notes that Mac an Bhaird poets wrote for the MacMahons as well as the O'Neills and Maguires.[1][3]
Mac an Bhaird of Sligo
near Ballymote · Sligo
Wikipedia mentions a further branch that settled near Ballymote by the 15th century. Woulfe does not list it separately.[3]
Ward families of English and settler descent
Castle Ward near Strangford, and elsewhere · Down, Wexford, Dublin, Laois
Ward is also an English surname, and Burke records dozens of English Ward families. In Ireland he lists Wards at Kilmartin in Queen's County, Newbawn in Wexford and in Dublin, one Dublin family of 1713 being descended from the Wards of Leicestershire, as well as the Wards of Castle Ward in Co. Down, who held land at Strangford from 1570 and became Viscounts Bangor.[7][2][8][9]
The name over time
History
Two names in one
Ward is really two surnames. The Irish one is Mac an Bhaird, 'son of the bard', which Woulfe found in every county but especially in Donegal, Galway and Dublin. The English one is an occupational name for a watchman or guard, or in some cases a topographical name from an Old English word for marsh, and Wikipedia stresses that the two are linguistically unrelated. In English, both came out as Ward once the Irish name lost its Mac. A Ward family's history therefore has to be traced on its own evidence: county, religion and family tradition all help.[1][2][3]
The bards of Uí Maine
The oldest Mac an Bhaird line belonged to Uí Maine in east Galway, where the family was based at Muine Casáin, in the parish now called Ballymacward, Baile Mhic an Bháird. Tradition counted them among the Soghain, a people said to have come from Ulster, and they were hereditary poets to the O'Kellys and O'Conors. Leabhar Ua Maine, made about 1380 for an O'Kelly bishop of Clonfert, traces twenty-four generations of the family. Wikipedia names Eoghan Mac an Bháird, around the 11th century, as the first to use the surname, and records the death of Maol Íosa Mac an Bháird, a bishop in Uí Maine, in 1173.[3][1][5]
Poets of Tír Chonaill
By the 15th century branches had settled in Tír Chonaill, near Lettermacaward and in Tirhugh, and also near Ballymote in Sligo and in Oriel. The Donegal line served the O'Donnells and produced some of the leading poets of the late bardic age. Fearghal Óg Mac an Bhaird enjoyed the patronage of James VI of Scotland and in 1602 lamented the death of Red Hugh O'Donnell. Eoghan Ruadh Mac an Bhaird followed Rory O'Donnell into exile in 1607; his elegy A bhean fuair faill ar an bhfeart was later turned into English by James Clarence Mangan as the Lament for the Earls of Tyrone and Tyrconnell.[3][10][1]
Louvain and the Continent
Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird, known in Latin and English as Hugh Ward, was born in Tirhugh around 1593. He studied at Salamanca, joined the Franciscans, lectured at the Irish College of St Anthony in Louvain from 1622 and became its rector in 1626; Wikipedia says he is regarded as the founder of Irish archaeology. His kinsman Conchobhar, known as Cornelius, served on the Franciscan mission to Scotland. Later, Tomás Mac an Bháird, born in Dublin in 1749, rose to general in the Irish Brigade of the French army and was guillotined in 1794. Continental records render the name in forms such as Vardeo and Bardeo.[6][3]
The last chiefs and the shortened name
The last Galway chief of the name recognised by the English authorities, Aedh Mac an Bháird, died in 1592, but Wikipedia says chiefs continued to be named until at least 1668. In the 17th century they kept residences at Ballymacward, Carrowantanny and Annagh, where the final castle has since been demolished. In English the name was written MacAward, MacWard and Macanward before Ward became the usual form. Wikipedia notes that Irish emigrants in 19th-century Scotland often dropped the Mac to find work more easily in the face of anti-Catholic hiring.[3][1]
Other Ward families in Ireland
Not every Irish Ward descends from the poets. Burke records Ward families at Kilmartin in Queen's County, at Newbawn in Wexford and in Dublin, one Dublin family registered in 1713 being descended from the Wards of Leicestershire. In Co. Down, Bernard Ward bought land on Strangford Lough in 1570 and renamed it Castle Ward; the family built a tower house there in 1610 and a new mansion in the 1760s, and a later Bernard Ward was created Viscount Bangor in 1781. Because English Ward and Irish Mac an Bhaird became the same word, the surname alone cannot tell the two apart.[8][9][7][2]
Places linked to the name
- Ballymacward (Baile Mhic an Bháird), Co. Galway — Village and parish named from the Uí Maine bards, seated at Muine Chasáin.[5][1][3]
- Lettermacaward (Leitir Mhic an Bhaird), Co. Donegal — Gaeltacht village in the Rosses, centre of the Tír Chonaill branch.[11][3][6]
- Castle Ward, Co. Down — Estate on Strangford Lough bought and renamed by Bernard Ward in 1570; seat of the Viscounts Bangor.[8][9]
Everyday lives
The Wards in the census
Who the Wards were in the 1901 and 1911 censuses (and 1926 where recorded), set against everyone in Ireland in the same census.
Wards All of Ireland Ireland's figure marked on the Ward bar
Religion, 1911
Irish language
169 Wards spoke Irish only in 1901.
Reading & writing
Family life, 1911
Commonest occupations
Adults aged 15+, 1901 and 1911 combined.
| Farmer | 1,916 |
| Farmer's son | 885 |
| Farmer's daughter | 490 |
| General labourer | 318 |
| Agricultural labourer | 241 |
| Labourer | 228 |
| House keeper | 225 |
| Farm servant | 225 |
| Farm labourer | 204 |
| Domestic servant | 165 |
Born outside Ireland
2.6% of Wards in 1911 gave a birthplace outside Ireland.
| England | 160 |
| Scotland | 51 |
| United States | 22 |
| India | 3 |
| Australia & NZ | 3 |
| Wales | 1 |
Median age: 24 in 1901, 25 in 1911.
Given names
First names among the Wards
Men and boys
- John1,794
- Patrick1,566
- James1,203
- Michael945
- Thomas903
- William599
- Peter424
- Joseph306
- Bernard259
- Martin230
Women and girls
- Mary2,104
- Bridget1,146
- Margaret688
- Annie619
- Ellen520
- Catherine476
- Kate427
- Anne410
- Maggie315
- Elizabeth304
All three censuses combined. Top five in 1926: John, Patrick, James, Michael, Thomas; Mary, Bridget, Annie, Margaret, Ellen.
Spellings
Spellings
This page combines the spellings below, which census enumerators and families used for the same name.
| Spelling | 1901 | 1911 | 1926 | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | 9,229 | 9,115 | 7,046 | Search |
| Warde | 310 | 314 | 291 | Search |
Related forms
- MacWard, MacAward — Fuller English forms of Mac an Bhaird recorded by Woulfe.[1]
- McWard, Macanward, M'Ward, MacEward, MacEvard — Further anglicised forms listed by Wikipedia.[3]
- O'Ward — An Irish variant mentioned by Wikipedia.[2]
- Warde — A spelling Burke uses for some English families, cross-referenced from Ward.[7]
- Mac Giolla Bhaird — An alternative Irish form listed by Gaois.[4]
- Vardeo, Bardeo, Wardeus — Latin and Spanish renderings found in Continental records of Irish exiles.[3]
Diaspora
The Wards abroad
Emigration carried the name worldwide. In the 2010 United States census:
| Spelling | People | US rank |
|---|---|---|
| Ward | 260,464 | 79th |
| Warde | 441 | 47966th |
Source: US Census Bureau, 2010 surname file (public domain).
Heraldry
Is there a Ward coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individual families, not to a surname, so there is no single Ward crest. Burke lists dozens of Ward coats of arms, nearly all for English families, together with Irish entries. For the Viscounts Bangor of Castle Ward he gives a quartered shield whose Ward quarters show a gold cross patonce on blue, with the motto 'Sub cruce salus', and the Wards of Kilmartin in Queen's County bore a similar cross. We found no Burke entry for the bardic Mac an Bhaird family under MacWard or MacAward.[7]
Websites selling a single “Ward family crest” are selling a design, not an inheritance. Arms in Ireland belonged to individuals and their heirs, and the Chief Herald of Ireland still grants arms that way today.
People
Notable people named Ward
- Fearghal Óg Mac an Bhaird (born by 1550, died after 1616) Donegal bardic poet who wrote for Red Hugh O'Donnell and James VI.
- Mary Ward (1585–1645) English nun whose work led to the Loreto Sisters and the Congregation of Jesus.
- Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird (Hugh Ward) (c.1593–1635) Franciscan scholar and rector of St Anthony's College, Louvain.
- Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor (1719–1781) Co. Down politician and peer for whom the present house at Castle Ward was built.
- Artemas Ward (1727–1800) American major general in the Revolutionary War and congressman for Massachusetts.
- Mary Ward (1827–1869) Irish naturalist, microscopist and artist.
- Aaron Montgomery Ward (1843–1913) Chicago entrepreneur who pioneered mail-order retailing.
- Mary Augusta Ward (1851–1920) British novelist, writing as Mrs Humphry Ward, and campaigner for education.
- Peter J. Ward (1891–1970) Donegal lawyer and Sinn Féin TD from 1918 to 1924.
- Barbara Ward (1914–1981) British economist and writer on the problems of developing countries.
- Tony Ward (born 1954) Ireland and British and Irish Lions fly-half.
- Joe Ward (born 1993) Irish boxer.
Questions
Questions about the Ward name
Is Ward an Irish or English surname?
Both. In Ireland Ward is usually the Gaelic Mac an Bhaird, 'son of the bard', the name of hereditary poet families in Galway, Donegal and Monaghan. In England it is an unrelated occupational name for a watchman or guard, and Burke records Ward families in Ireland descended from English ones, such as a Dublin family from Leicestershire.[1][2][7]
What is Ward in Irish?
Mac an Bhaird, meaning 'son of the bard'. Gaois also lists Mac Giolla Bhaird as an alternative Irish form. A Ward family of English descent has no Gaelic original, since its name was English from the start.[4][1]
Where does the Ward name come from in Ireland?
The Irish Wards descend from learned families of poets. The oldest line was based at Ballymacward in east Galway as poets to the O'Kellys of Uí Maine; others served the O'Donnells in Donegal around Lettermacaward, and further branches lived in Oriel and near Ballymote. Woulfe found the name especially common in Donegal, Galway and Dublin.[1][3]
Are Ward and MacWard the same name?
Usually, in Ireland. MacWard and MacAward are fuller English forms of Mac an Bhaird, and Ward is the same name with the Mac dropped. Wikipedia notes that Irish emigrants in 19th-century Scotland often shortened McWard to Ward. A Ward of English descent, however, has no connection with the Mac an Bhaird poets.[1][3]
Is there a Ward family crest or coat of arms?
No single one. Burke records many Ward coats of arms, nearly all for particular English families, and some for Irish families such as the Wards of Bangor Castle in Co. Down and of Kilmartin in Queen's County. Each belonged to the family it was granted to, not to everyone called Ward.[7]
Where in Ireland is the Ward surname most common?
In the 1911 census the largest numbers of Wards lived in Donegal (1,573), Dublin (1,138), Galway (1,007). Relative to population, the name was most concentrated in Donegal (93 per 10,000), Monaghan (60 per 10,000), Galway (55 per 10,000).
How common was the Ward surname in Ireland?
9,429 people were recorded as Ward or Warde in the 1911 census of Ireland, making it the 65th most common surname. That is roughly 0.2% of the population, or 1 person in 465.
Looking for a Ward ancestor?
Search every Ward household in the 1901, 1911 and 1926 censuses, with free images of the original forms.
Evidence
Sources
- Patrick Woulfe, Mac an Bháird, in Irish Names and Surnames (1923)
- Wikipedia, Ward (surname) (2026)
- Wikipedia, Mac an Bhaird (2026)
- Gaois research group, Dublin City University, Sloinnte: Irish surnames database (2022). Modern standard Irish forms.
- Wikipedia, Ballymacward (2026)
- Wikipedia, Aodh Buidhe Mac an Bhaird (2026)
- Sir Bernard Burke, The General Armory of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales (1884). The 'Ward' and 'Warde' entries, including Bangor Castle, Kilmartin, Newbawn and Dublin.
- Wikipedia, Castle Ward (2026)
- Wikipedia, Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor (2026)
- Wikipedia, Fearghal Óg Mac an Bhaird (2026)
- Wikipedia, Lettermacaward (2026)
- Census of Ireland 1901 and 1911, and Census of Population 1926, National Archives of Ireland. Counts compiled by surnames.ie from the irishcensus.com transcription (dataset 20260831130351). 1926 data © National Archives of Ireland, CC BY 4.0.
How we compile these figures: methodology.