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Surname Etymology and Meaning of WARD

Name meanings and etymologies are often disputed. The information here is compiled from freely available sources, and no claims whatsoever are made for accuracy, either historical or etymological.

1. English: occupational name for a watchman or guard, from Old English weard ‘guard’ (used as both an agent noun and an abstract noun).
2. Irish: reduced form of McWard, an Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac an Bhaird ‘son of the poet’. The surname occurs throughout Ireland, where three different branches of the family are known as professional poets.
3. Surname adopted by bearers of the Jewish surname Warshawski, Warshawsky or some other Jewish name bearing some similarity to the English name.
4. Americanized form of French Guerin.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names (2003)