Byrd (surname)

Byrd is a surname, a variant spelling of the English word "bird," which is derived from the Old English pre-7th-century word "bridde" (Middle English "brid" or "bird"). Another common variant of this surname is "Bird."



Origin and variants
Byrd is a metonymic occupational or descriptive name that was originally used for a person who worked as a bird catcher (name shortened from "birdclever"), or someone who had bird-like characteristics (i.e., bright eyed or active, or perhaps one with a beautiful singing voice). A part of the ancient legacy of the Anglo-Saxon tribes in Britain, the surname Byrd was first found in Cheshire at Broxton, a village and civil parish in North West England. The surname was first recorded in Essex towards the end of the 12th Century as "Le Brid(d)."

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 Byrd surname usually have the same origin.

Notable people with the surname

 * A. Dean Byrd (1948–2012), American psychologist
 * Adam M. Byrd (1859–1912), American politician
 * Adrianne Byrd (1970–2020), American romance novelist
 * Albert Byrd (1915–1990), American cyclist
 * Alma W. Byrd (1924–2017), American politician
 * Alton Byrd (born 1957), American-British basketball player, sports broadcaster and sports executive
 * Andrew Byrd (born 1982), American politician
 * Bill Byrd (1907–1991), American baseball player
 * Billy Byrd (1920–2001), American country guitarist
 * Bobby Byrd (1934–2007), American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, and musician
 * Boris Byrd (born 1962), American football player
 * Brandon R. Byrd, American historian
 * Bretton Byrd (1904–1959), British composer and musician
 * Brigitte Byrd (born 1959), French-American poet
 * Butch Byrd (born 1941), AFL Hall of Fame
 * Charles Byrd (fighter) (born 1983), American mixed martial artist
 * Charles Pinckney Byrd (c. 1857–1935), American publisher and printer
 * Charles Willing Byrd (1770–1828), first sitting justice on the United States District Court of Ohio
 * Charlice Byrd (born 1951), American politician
 * Charlie Byrd (1925–1999), American jazz guitarist
 * Chris Byrd (born 1970), American heavyweight boxing champion
 * Conley Byrd (1925–2014), Justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
 * Cord Byrd (born 1971), American attorney and politician
 * Curley Byrd (1889–1970), American university administrator, educator, athlete, coach, and politician
 * Damiere Byrd (born 1993), American football player
 * Dan Byrd (born 1985), American actor
 * Danny Byrd (born 1979), English DJ, record producer and musician
 * Darryl Byrd (born 1960), American football player
 * David Byrd (politician) (born 1957), American politician and retired basketball coach
 * David Edward Byrd (born 1941), American graphic designer and painter
 * David Harold Byrd (1900–1986), American petroleum geologist and businessman
 * Debra Byrd (1951–2024), American vocalist
 * Deborah Byrd (born 1951), American science journalist
 * Dennis Byrd (1966–2016), American football player
 * Dennis Byrd (American football, born 1946) (1946–2010), American football player
 * Demetrius Byrd (born 1986), American football player
 * Dominique Byrd (born 1984), American football player
 * Don Byrd, American poet
 * Donald Byrd (1932–2013), American jazz trumpeter
 * Donald Byrd (choreographer) (born 1949), American dance choreographer
 * Dontez Byrd (born 1995), American football player
 * Elizabeth Byrd (1912–1989), American author
 * Emanuel Byrd (born 1994), American football player
 * Eugene Byrd (born 1975), American actor
 * Flossie M. Byrd (1927–2020), American home economist
 * Garland T. Byrd (1924–1997), American politician
 * Geoff Byrd (born 1970), American musician
 * George Byrd (1926–2010), American conductor
 * Gibson Byrd (1923–2002), American painter
 * Gill Byrd (born 1961), American football player
 * Harriet Elizabeth Byrd (1926–2015), American politician and educator
 * Harry Byrd (baseball) (1925–1985), American baseball player
 * Harry F. Byrd (1887–1966), U.S. senator for Virginia
 * Harry F. Byrd Jr. (1914–2013), U.S. senator for Virginia from 1965 until 1983
 * Henry Roeland Byrd (1918–1980), American blues musician
 * Imhotep Gary Byrd, American radio host and musician
 * Isaac Byrd (born 1974), American football player
 * Israel Byrd (born 1971), American college football player and coach
 * Jairus Byrd (born 1986), American football player
 * James Byrd Jr. (1949–1998), American murder victim
 * James W. Byrd (born 1954), American politician
 * Jazz Byrd (c. 1904–1994), American football player and coach and tax collector
 * Jefferson Byrd (born 1971), American politician
 * Jeff Byrd (born 1956), American baseball player
 * Jeffrey J. Byrd, American biologist
 * Jeffrey W. Byrd, American film director, producer and screenwriter
 * Jerry Byrd (1920–2005), American lap steel guitarist
 * Jessica Byrd, American feminist activist
 * Jim Byrd (born 1968), American baseball player
 * Jodi Byrd, Chickasaw academic
 * Joe Byrd (vaudeville), American vaudeville comedian
 * Joe Byrd (Cherokee Nation Principal Chief) (born 1954)
 * John William Byrd Jr. (1963–2002), American murderer
 * Johnnie Byrd (born 1951), American politician
 * Joseph Byrd (born 1937), American rock musician
 * Joseph Tali Byrd, Cherokee/Quapaw Nation politician
 * Josephine Byrd, American activist and former social service worker
 * Jonathan Byrd (golfer) (born 1978), American golfer
 * Jonathan Byrd (musician) (born 1970), American folk singer-songwriter
 * Jordan Byrd (born 2000), American football player
 * Judie Byrd, American chef
 * Kahlil Byrd, American political advisor and entrepreneur
 * LaRon Byrd (born 1989), American football player
 * Larry Byrd (born 1948), American politician
 * Laurie Byrd, American basketball player and coach
 * Leland Byrd (1927–2022), American college athletic administrator, basketball player and coach
 * Leo Byrd (1936–1991), American basketball player
 * Leonard Byrd (born 1975), American sprinter
 * Louis Byrd, mayor of Lynwood, California
 * Mabel Byrd (1895–1988), American civil rights activist
 * Manford Byrd Jr. (1928–2021), American educator and education administrator
 * Marc Byrd (born 1970), American musician, writer, and producer
 * Maria Taylor Byrd (1698–1771), wife of William Byrd II
 * Marlon Byrd (born 1977), American baseball player
 * Mary E. Byrd (1849–1934), American educator
 * Mary Willing Byrd (1740–1814), second wife of Colonel William Byrd III
 * Michael Byrd, American police officer
 * Mitch Byrd (born 1961), American comic book artist
 * Ollie Byrd (1896–1929), American baseball player
 * Paul Byrd (born 1970), American baseball player
 * Petri Hawkins-Byrd (born 1957), bailiff "Byrd" on the Judge Judy TV series
 * Ralph Byrd (1909–1952), American actor
 * Raymond Byrd (1895–1926), American lynching victim
 * Richard Byrd (athlete) (1892–1958), American athlete and baseball player
 * Richard Byrd (American football) (born 1962), American football player
 * Richard C. Byrd (c. 1805–1854), American politician
 * Richard Evelyn Byrd Sr. (1860–1925), Virginia lawyer, politician and newspaperman
 * Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), American admiral, polar explorer, aviator
 * Richard Evelyn Byrd III (1920–1988), American naval officer and polar explorer
 * Rick Byrd (born 1953), American college basketball coach
 * Ricky Byrd (born 1956), American rock musician
 * Robert Byrd (1917–2010), U.S. Senator, Democrat from West Virginia
 * Robert Byrd (architect) (1904–1978), American architect
 * Robert Byrd (artist) (born 1942), American author and illustrator
 * Robert K. Byrd (1823–1885), American soldier and politician
 * Robert L. Byrd, American politician and lobbyist
 * Robin Byrd (born 1957), American former pornographic actress
 * Russell Byrd (born 1992), American baseball player
 * Sammy Byrd (1910–1981), American baseball player and golfer
 * Solomon Byrd (born 1999), American football player
 * Steve Byrd (1955–2016), English rock musician
 * Sylvester Byrd (born 1963), American football player
 * Terrill Byrd (born 1986), American football player
 * Thomas Jefferson Byrd (1950–2020), American actor
 * Tom Byrd (born 1960), American actor
 * Tracy Byrd (boxer) (born 1964), American boxer
 * Tracy Byrd (born 1966), American country singer
 * Walt Byrd (born 1942), American retired basketball player
 * Warren Byrd (born 1965), American jazz pianist, vocalist and composer
 * Wendell Byrd, American politician and businessman
 * William Byrd (1540–1623), English composer
 * William Byrd I (1652–1704), member of colonial Virginia's House of Burgesses
 * William Byrd II (1674–1744), founder of Richmond, Virginia
 * William Byrd III (1728–1777), member of the House of Burgesses, and military officer
 * William Byrd (died 1922), American lynching victim
 * William M. Byrd (1819–1874), justice of the Supreme Court of Alabama
 * Willie Byrd (born 1983), American football player
 * Winifred Byrd (1884–1970), American concert pianist