Wade (surname)



Wade is a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin. It is thought to derive from the Middle English given name "Wade," which itself derived from the pre-7th century Old English verb "wadan" (wada) meaning "to go", or as a habitational name from the Old English word "(ge)waed" meaning "ford".

Origins and variants
The given name Wade, from which the surname may be derived, was first recorded in the "little" Domesday Book for Norfolk, Suffolk, and Essex in 1086 as "Wada", "Wade" and "Wado", owing its popularity to the legend of Wade, a sea-giant, who was dreaded and honored by the coastal tribes of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea. The first recording of Wade as a surname is from this source. The Old English word "(ge)waed" meaning "ford," may either be a topographical name to denote someone who lived by a ford, or a locational name from a place known as Wade, such as "Wade" in the county of Suffolk in East Anglia in the East of England. The surname is historically concentrated in the East of England, particularly in and around the counties of Suffolk and Essex, suggesting that this region may be the surname's likely area of origin.

The first recorded spelling of the surname as "Wade" specifically, is shown to be that of Godwin Wade, dated 1166 in the "Pipe Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Henry II (1154–1189).

The official use of surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. 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 Wade surname usually have the same origin.

Variants of this surname include Waide and Wadey, the latter a diminutive variant. There is also a documented relationship between Wade and Waythe, the latter derived by a variant form of "wade" meaning a ford, that being "wath"; there is likewise a relationship between Wade/Waythe and Ford/Forth.

Wade in Ireland
The Wade surname also spread throughout the rest of the British Isles, and this is evidenced by its presence in many medieval manuscripts in Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In Ireland, the name is of English, Gaelic and Norman French origin, having been spread throughout the islands by Norman French settlers in the 13th century (De la Wade), and English settlers, particularly in the 17th century. The name was then gaelicized in many cases, becoming MacWade, MacUaid, MacQuaid and Quaid.

A to E

 * Abdoulaye Wade (born 1926), President of Senegal


 * April Wade, American actress and producer
 * Arthur C. Wade (1852–1914), American lawyer and politician
 * Arthur Edward Wade (1895–1989), British botanist, lichenologist and museum curator
 * Barrington Wade (born 1998), American football player
 * Ben Wade (1922–2002), American baseball player


 * Bernie L. Wade (born 1963), American minister, President of the International Circle of Faith


 * Betsy Wade (1929–2020), American journalist
 * Brandon Wade (born 1970), American businessman
 * Bryan Wade (born 1963), English footballer


 * Christian Wade (born 1991), English rugby player & American football player
 * Claude Martin Wade (1794–1861), British political officer in India and Afghanistan
 * Cory Wade (born 1983), American Major League Baseball player


 * Dallas Toler-Wade (born 1974), American musician
 * Dayton Wade (born 2000), American football player
 * Dean Wade (born 1996), American basketball player
 * Don Wade (1928–2007), American football coach and college athletics administrator
 * Donald Wade, Baron Wade (1904–1988), British Liberal Party politician
 * Doug Wade (born 1941), former Australian rules footballer
 * Dwyane Wade (born 1982), American basketball player


 * Edward Wade (1802–1866), American politician

F to J

 * Gale Wade (1929–2022), American baseball player
 * George Wade (1673–1748) was a British military commander


 * Henry Wade (1914–2001), Texas lawyer and lead defendant in Roe v. Wade
 * Henry Wade, pen name of British mystery writer Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, 6th Baronet (1887–1969)
 * Henry Wade (surgeon) (1876–1955), Scottish surgeon
 * Herbert Wade (doctor) (1886–1968), American doctor and researcher on leprosy
 * Herby Wade (1905–1980), South African cricketer


 * James Wade (born 1983), English darts player


 * Jason Wade (born 1980), singer/songwriter
 * Jennie Wade (1843–1863), the only civilian casualty in the Battle of Gettysburg
 * Jeremy Wade (born 1956), British TV presenter (River Monsters) and fishing author
 * Jessey Wade (c. 1861 – 1952), English suffragette and animal welfare campaigner
 * Jim Wade (1925–2019), American football player


 * John Wade, several people
 * Joivan Wade (born 1993), British actor


 * Julian Wade (born 1990), Dominican footballer
 * Julie Marie Wade (born 1979), American writer and professor or writing

K to O

 * LaMonte Wade Jr. (born 1994), American baseball player
 * Lillian Wade (1870–1923), British sculptor
 * Lloyd Wade, English gospel and soul singer, vocal coach
 * Logan Wade (born 1991), Australian baseball player
 * Mark Wade (born 1965), American retired basketball player


 * Martin Joseph Wade (1861–1931), U.S. Democratic Representative from Iowa
 * Mary Wade (1775–1859), One of the youngest female convicts transported to Australia aboard the Lady Juliana in 1790 and 5x great grandmother of former Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd.
 * Mary Hazelton Blanchard Wade (1860–1936), American writer
 * Mary Wade (paleontologist) (1928–2005), Australian paleontologist
 * Matthew Wade (born 1987), Australian cricketer


 * Morgan Wade (singer) (1995–), American singer
 * Ned Wade (hurler) (1911–1992), Irish hurler
 * Nicholas Wade (born 1942 in England), US science writer and author
 * Nicholas J. Wade British vision researcher and historian of vision
 * Oulton Wade, Baron Wade of Chorlton (1932–2018), British politician and businessman

P to T

 * Paul Wade (born 1962), retired Australian footballer
 * Peter Wade, British anthropologist
 * Rachel Wade (born 1990), American murderer
 * Rebekah Wade, English journalist
 * Reg Wade, English footballer
 * Robert Wade (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Rosalind Wade (1909–1989), British novelist
 * Scott Wade (born 1960), former Australian rules footballer
 * Ted Wade (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Shaun Wade (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Sidney Wade (born 1951), American poet
 * Stephen Wade (Born 1960), Australian politician
 * Silas A. Wade (1797–1869), American politician
 * Terence Wade (1930–2005), English academic and linguist
 * Thomas Wade (disambiguation), multiple people
 * Tyler Wade (born 1994), American baseball player

U to Z

 * Virginia Wade (born 1945), tennis player from the United Kingdom
 * Wallace Wade (1892–1986), American college sports coach
 * Wayne Wade (born 1959), Jamaican reggae musician


 * Willoughby Francis Wade (1827–1906), British physician