The surname Wade is of English origin. It is derived from the Middle English given name ‘Wade’, Old English ‘Wada’, from the verb ‘wadan’, to go. This name according to legend was borne by a great sea-giant. It may also be a habitational name from a place named with this word, such as Wade in Suffolk. It may also be a topographical name for someone who lived by a ford, from the Old English ‘woed’. Where ever there are streams or running water, people must cross them either by bridge or by a ford, the latter being the normal manner during the period that surnames were being stabilized. The man who lived by the ford would be known as Wade, and almost every river or stream could be crossed at some shallow point, the name became quite common. The name thus comes to signify ‘dweller at a ford’. It is also used as a given name in transferred use of the surname. This name dates back to the twelfth century were a Henry de la Wade is recorded in historical archives. However, a Wada was the name of one of the ealdormen concerned in the murder of the Northumbrian king Ethelred to…
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