Ward (surname)
Ward is a popular Old English origin and Old Gaelic origin surname dating to before the Norman conquest of 1066 and Ireland, common in English-speaking countries.
The Old English name derives from an occupational surname for a civil guard/keeper of the watch, or alternately as a topographical surname from the word werd. The Old Gaelic surname derives from Mac an Bháird , a bárd being a storyteller or poet. The two names are completely unrelated linguistically one being Germanic and the other Celtic. The oldest public record of the surname dates to 1176.
In the 2010 United States Census, Ward was the 79th most common surname. It is the 78th most common surname in Ireland. It was the 31st most common surname in the 1991 UK census and 40th in 2001 census, and in 2007, was found to be the most common surname in Lutterworth, Leicestershire.
People with the surname include:
People with surname Ward
Disambiguation of common given names with this surname
- Alan Ward
- Andrew Ward
- Artemas Ward
- Ben Ward
- Bill Ward
- Charles Ward
- Chris Ward,
- Darren Ward
- David Ward
- Harry Ward
- James Ward including:
- Jeff Ward
- Jim Ward including:
- Joel Ward
- John Ward
- Lyman Ward
- Mark Ward
- Michael Ward
- Nick Ward
- Robert Ward
- Robin Ward
- Tony Ward
- William Ward
Arts
- Algy Ward, English rock and roll bass guitarist and singer
- Bernard Evans Ward, painter
- Burt Ward, American actor on the television series Batman
- Clifford T. Ward, singer-songwriter
- Edward Matthew Ward, English painter
- Elizabeth Ward Gracen, American actor and 1982 Miss America winner
- Fred Ward, American actor
- Gemma Ward, Australian supermodel and actor
- Helen Ward , American singer
- Henry Snowden Ward, English photographer
- Hugh J. Ward American comic actor with career in Australia
- Jay Ward, American creator and producer of animated television cartoons
- Jennifer Ward , Canadian news anchor
- Jillian Ward, Filipina child actress
- Jonathan Ward, American actor
- Lance Ward, cartoonist
- Leslie Ward, British caricaturist
- Luca Ward, Italian actor and dubber
- M. Ward, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- Monica Ward, Italian actress and dubber
- Patrick Ward, actor
- Patrick Ward
- Pendleton Ward, creator of Adventure Time
- Rachel Ward, British/Australian actress
- Roger Ward, Australian actor
- Scooter Ward, Songwriter, musician
- Sela Ward, American actress, author, and producer
- Selwyn Ward, American actor
- Shayne Ward, British singer, 2005 winner of The X Factor
- Simon Ward, British actor
- Singin' Sammy Ward, American rhythm and blues singer
- Sophie Ward, British actor and daughter of actor Simon Ward
- Susan Ward, American actor
- Zack Ward, Canadian actor
Humanities
- Adolphus William Ward, English historian
- Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, British economist and writer
- Geoffrey Ward, American historian
- Keith Ward, British cleric, philosopher, theologian and scholar
- Mary Augusta Ward, British author and social reformer who wrote under her married name as Mrs Humphry Ward
- May Alden Ward, American author
Politics and military
- Aaron Ward , US Congressman from New York
- Aaron Ward, US admiral
- Alfred Dudley Ward, British Army officer
- Arnold Ward, British journalist and politician
- Daniel P. Ward, American jurist
- Ebenezer Ward MLC, South Australian politician
- Eddie Ward MHR, Australian politician
- Elisha Ward, New York politician
- Frederick Townsend Ward, American mercenary
- George F. Ward, former United States ambassador to Namibia
- George Reginald Ward, 1st Viscount Ward of Witley, British politician
- James Allen Ward, VC, New Zealand recipient of the Victoria Cross
- James Kewley Ward, Canadian lumber merchant and politician
- John Ward, black Seminole Army Indian Scout Medal of Honor Winner
- Jonathan Ward, US Congressman from New York
- Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of New Zealand 1906–1912 and 1928–1930
- Lafe Ward, American lawyer and politician
- Mark Ward, Irish Sinn Féin politician
- Orlando Ward, American general
- Pat Ward, Iowa State Senator
- Peter J. Ward, Irish politician
- Ward family, Earls of Dudley and Barons Ward
Sciences
- Henry Augustus Ward, American naturalist
- Henry Baldwin Ward, American zoologist
- Lesley Ward, Australian mathematician
- Lester Frank Ward, American biologist and sociologist
- Mary Ward, Irish multidisciplinary scientist
- Nathaniel Bagshaw Ward, inventor of the Wardian case
- Neil B. Ward, American atmospheric scientist and first scientific storm chaser
- Morgan Ward, American mathematician
- Peter Ward, evolutionary biologist
Sports
- Aaron Ward, hockey player
- Andre Ward, American boxer
- Ashley Ward, English footballer
- Brennan Ward, American mixed martial artist
- Brent Ward, New Zealand Rugby union player
- Callan Ward, Australian footballer
- Cam Ward, hockey goaltender
- Charvarius Ward, American football player
- Danny Ward, Welsh football player
- Daryle Ward, baseball player
- Dave Ward , English rugby union player
- Dennis Ward, Australian rugby league footballer
- Denzel Ward, American football player
- Derrick Ward, American football player
- Duane Ward, baseball player
- Elliott Ward, English footballer
- Francis Ward, New Zealand Rugby union player
- Frederick Ward, English football manager
- Gary Ward , American college baseball coach
- Garry Ward, rugby league footballer of the 1980s
- Greg Ward Jr., American football player
- Helen Ward, Welsh association footballer
- Hines Ward, American football player
- Holcombe Ward, American tennis player
- James Ward, English tennis player
- Jason Ward, Canadian hockey player
- Jihad Ward, American football player
- Joanne Ward, British tennis player
- Kenny Ward, Scottish footballer
- Lance Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
- Laurie Ward, Australian rugby league footballer
- Lorenzo Ward, American football coach
- Paul John Ward, British motorcycle racer
- Leslie Ward, English cricketer
- Matt Ward, American lacrosse player
- McLain Ward, Olympic equestrian
- Micky Ward, American boxer
- Mitchell Ward, American football player
- Natalie Ward, Australian softball player
- Pat Ward , Scottish footballer
- Rebecca Ward, American olympic saber fencer
- Robbie Ward, English rugby league footballer
- Rodger Ward, American racecar driver
- Steve Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
- T. J. Ward, American football defensive back
- Terron Ward, American football player
- Tyler Ward, All-Around American Athlete
- Vanessa Ward, Australian high jumper
Other
- Adam Ward, photojournalist murdered on television along with a colleague in 2015
- Ann Ward Fashion model
- Hansford Ward born John Ralph Hansford Ward, ship owner and captain in South Australia
- Mary Ward, English foundress of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary
- Mary Ward, nurse and significant figure in the history of the English canal system
- Philip Henry Ward Jr., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Sally Ward Lawrence Hunt Armstrong Downs, also known as Sallie Ward,, American socialite.
- Stephen Ward, British doctor involved in the Profumo affair
- Tracy Posner Ward, wife of Burt Ward, daughter of Victor Posner
Fictional characters
- Charles Ward, an H.P. Lovecraft character
- J.D. Ward, main antagonist from
- Luke Ward, character in the television program, The OC
- Mycroft Ward, main antagonist from The Raw Shark Texts
- Thomas J. Ward, main protagonist from The Wardstone Chronicles
- Victor Ward, main character of the Bret Easton Ellis novel Glamorama
- Vivian Ward, title character in the film Pretty Woman
- Fleet Admiral H.T Ward, minor character in the Halo Series
- Grant Ward, character in the television show Agents of SHIELD
- Risa Ward, a main character in the book series Unwind