Sharpened forms of Steward and Stuard, which see. The following entries manifestly refer to the same parents:

1723. Baptised — John, s. Robert and Edy Steward: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1725. — Jane, d. Robert and Ede Stewart: ibid.

In Old English the original sense of the word stiward (from older - stigeweard, 'sty-warden') was one who looked after the domestic animals; hence by extension of meaning, one who provides for his master's table. The vowel change of y is due to the following w, and the earliest instance of the final letter of the name being t instead of d occurs in the Armorial de Gelre (c. 1370-88). By the eleventh century the word had come to mean one who superintended the household affairs of another, and was therefore a title of honor. In Scotland the steward was not only chief of the royal household, but his power extended to the collection and management of the crown revenues, to the administration of justice, and in time of war he took first place in the army next to the king. (For development of meaning compare the names Constable and Marshall. ) in early charters and kindred documents steward, seneschal (from a lost Gothic word - sinaskalks, meaning 'old servant'), and dapifer ('food bringer') are practically synonymous terms. There are four ways of spelling the surname-Stewart, Steuart, Stuart, and Steward, besides the borrowed Gaelic form Stiubhard. The fame of Mary, queen of Scots (who speller her name Stuart, after the French manner, there being no w in that language) and of the Young Pretender has made the French form more popular. The Scottish royal family of Stewart descended from a family of Breton nobles, who were hereditary seneschals of Dol. The first recorded is Alan Dapifer , who flourished about the middle of the eleventh century. See Allan. His son, also named Alan, appears several times in Breton history. A grandson of this second Alan, also named Alan, became lord of Oswestry and appears as witness to a grant by Henry I of England to the monks of Marmoutier, c. 1100-08. Walter, one of the four sons of this Alan, was the first of his family in Scotland. He first appears in 1142 when he attests a charter of David I, the 'soir sanct for the crown' to Melrose Abbey (Metros, p. 4). He also appears as witness in other royal charters, and King David before his death in 1153 made a grant to this Walter of the office of Steward of Scotland. No original record of this grant now exists, but its bestowal is proved by a charter of Malcolm IV, granted to Walter in 1157 confirming to him and his heirs the donation which King David gave him, namely, the lands of Renfrew, Paisley, etc., and also gives to him and his heirs the royal stewartry (senescallia) as 'King David gave the same.' Walter the sixth Steward fought at Bannockburn, 1314, and in 1319 he successfully defended Berwick against the English led by Edward in in person, and was one of the signers of the Scottish Declaration of independence in 1320. In 1315 he had married Marjory, daughter of King Robert the Bruce, who bore to him a son, Robert, afterwards Robert II, first of the royal line of Stewart, crowned in 1371. Many people imagine that all persons bearing the name Stewart (or its variants) are of royal descent, but it must be borne in mind that there were stewards and stewards, as King James the Sixth emphasized when he said that all Stewarts were not 'sib' to the king. Every bishop, every earl had his steward, who in his own particular domain was simply 'John the steward.' Thus, for example, in a charter of Richard, bishop of St. Andrews, granted between 1163-73, among the witnesses we find 'Galfridus dapiferus episcopi' and 'Odone senescallus Gospatrici de Rirais' (Archaeologia Scotica, I, p. 113). Phelippe Sty ward of Roxburghshire and William le £z le Stywarde of the counte of Berewyk rendered homage, 1296 (Bain, II, p. 199,203). John Stywarde was one of an inquest at Roxburgh, 1357, Richard Stiward was in the king of England's service, 1371, and John Stywarde of Ennermethe (Invermeath) was a knight of Scotland (ibid., IV, I, 191,771). Steuarde 1442, Steuart 1504, Steuarte 1448, Stevarde 1506. Stevarte 1498, Stiuard 1424, Stuard 1421, Stuarde 1508 Stuerd 1490 Stuart 1429, Stuerd 1490 Stuward 1415, Stwyarde 1328. To the Gaels the Stewarts are known as "The race of kings and tinkers," Stiubhairtaich cinne nan righ 's nan ceàrd. Robert Stuart (1785-1848), American explorer and "friend of the Indians," was born in Callander. In the seventeenth century an East Anglia family named Styward put forward a story that they were originally Stewarts. Oliver Cromwell's mother was one of them, and on the strength of this it was claimed that Cromwell was descended from the royal family.

= Stewart, q.v.

The Steuarts of Allanton, co. Lanark (Barts.), are lineally descended from Alexander, sixth lord High Steward of Scotland, great grandfather of King Robert II., the first prince of the Stuart line. Courthope's Debrett.

Banquo, Thane of Lochabyr, was Steward to Duncan I; the descendants of his grandson, Walter, who was created by Malcolm Canmore, Lord High Steward of Scotland, assumed the surname of Stewart or Stuart.

Walter, the son of Fleance, and grand—son of Banquo, was created, by Malcom III. Lord High Steward of Scotland, from which office his family afterward took and retained the name of Stewart, and from them descended the royal family of Stuart.

The surname Stewart (or Stuart) is a variation of the name Steward. This name is thus an occupational name, and as such it derives from the Old English word meaning ‘steward or keeper of a household’. The changing of the final ‘d’ in the original to the more usual ‘t’ is typical of Scottish usage, and accounts for why the name is so widespread in that country. Stewardson and Stewartson are occasional variations.

After the Norman Conquest, the rank of steward became synonymous for ‘an official who controls the domestic affairs of a household’ and became similar to chamberlain, though stewards were frequently more exalted in the hierarchy. For instance, the Lord High Steward of Scotland was the first officer of the Scottish kings and had the doubtful privilege of leading the Scots army into battle. Despite this hazardous occupation, a steward soon rose to the highest position in the land. Robert the Steward became King Robert II of Scotland in 1371 and founded the House of Steward (now known as the Stuarts, the French form of the word, adopted by Mary Queen of Scots).

In Scotland, steward (or Stewart) was also often another name for a magistrate. For this, and the more domestic occupational reason, the name became very widespread in Scotland. Thus, only in the rarest of cases would the family name Stewart indicate royal descent (and most of these are already traced in the records).

The first mention of the surname occurs in the early records for Devon covering the years 1100—30, where one Rogere se Stiwerd appears.

‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’, the Young Pretender, is one of the great heroes of Scottish history. As Charles Stuart (1720— 88) he laid claim to the English throne and led the Scottish clans in the great ’45 rebellion. His loyal highlanders rallied round him and he marched south, reaching as far as Derby-only to be defeated at the Battle of Culloden. After this massacre he fled to France disguised as a woman. He finally died, a drunkard, in Rome.

Frances Teresa Stewart (1647—1702) was the favourite of Charles II, her legendary beauty giving her the edge over her many rivals, such as Nell Gwynne. Known as ‘La Belle Stewart’, she was considered by Samuel Pepys as the greatest beauty of her time, and was immortalised when she posed for the image of Britannia on the coin of the realm.

The Australian town Alice Springs was formerly known as Stuart.

Scottish-born explorer John McDouall Stuart made six expeditions into the Australian interior between 1858 and 1862, finally reaching the Indian Ocean.

‘Walking Stewart’ was the baldly apt nickname bestowed upon John Stewart (d. 1822), an intrepid English wanderer who travelled on foot through Hindustan, Persia, Nubia, Abyssinia, the Arabian desert, Europe and the US.

The US Stuart tank, an M3 mounting a 37-millimetre gun, saw heavy action during World War II, playing a major role in the Italian Campaign and the post-D-day offensive.

Five towns in the United Kingdom are related-Stewartby, Stewarton (2), Stewartstown and Stuartfield. Canada has 5 as well, the United States has 9, but Australia and New Zealand have none. Both New Zealand and Chile have Stewart Islands while Australia has numerous mountains, points and bluffs named Stewart or Stuart. Name-related bodies of water and other topographic features are also common. Canada alone has 2 rivers named Stewart and 2 named Stuart.

There are over 41,000 Stewarts in Scotland where it is 7th in popularity. In Ireland it is estimated that with about 12,000 namesakes Stewart is the 58th most popular surname. (The name is not common enough throughout England and Wales to be counted separately.) Stewart is notably popular in and around Glasgow where an estimated one in about 140 families bears the name, while in Edinburgh the figure is one in 145. Around the world Stewarts are most common in Vancouver (one in 455 families), Wellington (one in 484) and Canberra (one in 500). The United States has more Stewarts than the entire population of Sunderland-an estimated total of just over 345,000 makes this their 47th most popular surname.