Wade History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Etymology of Wade

What does the name Wade mean?

The Anglo-Saxon name Wade comes from the given name Wade. Wade is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. Many patronyms were formed when a son used his father's personal name as a surname, while others came from the personal names of famous religious and secular figures. In this case, the surname would have come from the personal name of the father, or another ancestor of the bearer. Another derivation of this surname comes from the Old English word (ge)wæd, which means to wade, and would have been given to someone who lived near a ford. Members of the Wade family were in Durham, at Hilton Castle, since the early Middle Ages.

Early Origins of the Wade family

The surname Wade was first found in Durham where they held a family seat at Hilton Castle from very ancient times.

Early History of the Wade family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wade research. Another 85 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1536, 1568, 1608, 1666, 1673, 1683, 1685, 1718, 1745, 1748 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Wade History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wade Spelling Variations

Before the last few hundred years, the English language had no fast system of spelling rules. For that reason, spelling variations are commonly found in early Anglo-Saxon surnames. Over the years, many variations of the name Wade were recorded, including Wade, Waide, Waid and others.

Early Notables of the Wade family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Armigil Wade or Waad (d. 1568), 'the English Columbus,' stated on the inscription of his tombstone, composed by his son, Sir William. He is said to have sprung from an ancient Yorkshire family. "He is...
George Wade (1673-1748) was a British soldier, who after the Jacobite rebellion, constructed a system of military roads and stone bridges, the latter became known as "Wade" bridges. During the Jacobit...
On the infamous side, Nathaniel Wade (c. 1666?-1718), was an English lawyer and conspirator. He was a major in Oliver Cromwell's army and governor of the Isle of Man for a short period. In 1683, he wa...

Wade World Ranking

In the United States, the name Wade is the 267^th most popular surname with an estimated 99,480 people with that name. 1 However, in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Wade is ranked the 341^st most popular surname with an estimated 136 people with that name. 2 And in Australia, the name Wade is the 337^th popular surname with an estimated 10,663 people with that name. 3 New Zealand ranks Wade as 569^th with 1,246 people. 4 The United Kingdom ranks Wade as 390^th with 16,540 people. 5

Migration of the Wade family to Ireland

Some of the Wade family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 50 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Wade migration to the United States +

To escape oppression and starvation at that time, many English families left for the "open frontiers" of the New World with all its perceived opportunities. In droves people migrated to the many British colonies, those in North America in particular, paying high rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Although many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, those who did see the shores of North America perceived great opportunities before them. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Research into various historical records revealed some of first members of the Wade family emigrate to North America:

Wade Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Jonathan Wade, who arrived in Boston in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon" 6
Mrs. Susanna Wade, who arrived in Boston, Massachusetts in 1632 aboard the ship "Lyon" 7
Mr. Henry Wade, who arrived in New England in 1635 aboard the ship "Mary Gould" 7
Mr. Edward Wade, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia aboard the ship "Paul" in 1635 7
Geo Wade, aged 19, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Primrose" 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wade Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Anne Wade, who landed in Virginia in 1714 6
Dyer Wade, who arrived in Virginia in 1714 6
Edward Wade, who landed in Georgia in 1734 6
Johanna Wade, who arrived in Delaware in 1746 6
James Wade, who landed in Mississippi in 1798 6

Wade Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Wade, who landed in New York in 1801 6
Patrick Wade, aged 20, who landed in New York in 1812 6
Nathan Wade, who arrived in Texas in 1835 6
Mr. James Wade, aged 20, Irish labourer who arrived in New York in 1846 aboard the ship "Stephen Whitney"
Thomas Wade, who landed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1847 6
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wade Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

William B Wade, who arrived in Mississippi in 1900 6
Joseph Wade, who landed in Arkansas in 1906 6

Wade migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Wade Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Thomas Wade U.E. born in Rhode Island, USA who settled in Kings County, New Brunswick c. 1783 passenger aboard the Union Transport, was a Farmer 8
Patrick Wade, who settled in Trinity in Newfoundland in 1792 9

Wade Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Francis Wade, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1802
Edward Wade who settled in Conception Harbour, Newfoundland in 1820 9
Miss. Ann Wade, aged 3 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Blenheim" departing 16th June 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 29th July 1847 but she died on board 10
Miss. Bridget Wade, aged 6 who was emigrating through Grosse Isle Quarantine Station, Quebec aboard the ship "Blenheim" departing 16th June 1847 from Cork, Ireland; the ship arrived on 29th July 1847 but she died on board 10

Wade migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Wade Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Wade, (b. 1775), aged 28, British shoe maker who was convicted in Surrey, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Calcutta" in February 1803, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1829 11
Mr. Thomas Wade, (b. 1782), aged 38, Irish merchant who was convicted in Dublin, Ireland for 7 years for fraud, transported aboard the "Dorothy" on 5th May 1820, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 12
William Wade, English convict from Norfolk, who was transported aboard the "Adamant" on March 16, 1821, settling in New South Wales, Australia 13
Mr. Abraham Wade, English convict who was convicted in Leeds, Yorkshire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eliza" on 13th July 1822, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 14
Robert Wade, English convict from Suffolk, who was transported aboard the "Asia" on October 22nd, 1824, settling in New South Wales, Australia 15
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wade migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Wade Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

W Richard Wade, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1840
George Wade, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
John Wade, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Integrity
Mary Ann Wade, aged 30, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Aurora" in 1840
Isaac Wade, who landed in Tamaki, Auckland, New Zealand in 1843
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Wade migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 16

Wade Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Nicholas Wade, aged 19, who settled in Barbados in 1635 aboard the ship "Falcon"
Mr. George Wade, (b. 1619), aged 16, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Matthew" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 17
Mr. Robert Wade, (b. 1600), aged 35, British settler traveling aboard the ship "Paul of London" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 17

Contemporary Notables of the name Wade (post 1700) +

Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (b. 1982), American former professional basketball player who is currently the host of the American adaptation of The Cube, regarded as one of the greatest shooting guards in NBA history, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame
Pete Wade (1934-2024), American guitarist
John Wade (1928-2023), American rower who competed in the men's coxless pair event at the 1948 Summer Olympics
Betty Wade (1952-2023), American professional wrestler, known as Joyce Grable, married name Betty Wade-Murphy
Patrick Henry "Adam" Wade (1935-2022), American singer, musician, actor and host of the CBS game show Musical Chairs (1975), he first Black game show host in the United States
Galeard Lee "Gale" Wade (1929-2022), American Major League Baseball center fielder from Melva, Missouri who played for the Chicago Cubs in the 1955 and 1956 seasons
Betsy Wade (1929-2020), American journalist who became the first woman copy editor at The New York Times in 1956
William James "Bill" Wade (1930-2016), American football quarterback
Henry Wade (1914-2001), Texas lawyer and lead defendant in Roe v. Wade
Corey Nathaniel Wade (b. 1983), American professional baseball relief pitcher
... (Another 16 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Wade family +

HMS Prince of Wales

Mr. Richard Beswick Wade, British Marine, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 18

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
"Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
"UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's Retrieved January 6th 2023, retrieved from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Seary E.R., Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland, Montreal: McGill's-Queen's Universtity Press 1998 ISBN 0-7735-1782-0
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 98)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th November 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/calcutta
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/dorothy
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Adamant voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1821 with 144 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adamant/1821
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th February 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eliza
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Asia 1 voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1824 with 9 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1824
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html