Wardlaw Surname

69,198th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 7,167 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Scotland

Wardlaw Surname Definition:

"There are in Scotland several places named Wardlaw, from which this surname may have been derived, but there is no evidence of the existence of Wardlaws of that Ilk" (Stodart. 11. p. 182). The place name Wardlaw, net Beauly, "the hillock where watch and ward was :pt by the retainers of the Norman lord of the Aird, John Byset," occurs so early as 1210 (as Wardelaue) and is interesting as showing the early introduction of the English language there.

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Wardlaw Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States4,8031:75,4658,641
Australia6981:38,6765,023
Scotland6901:7,7591,168
England4411:126,34512,635
Canada2561:143,92814,778
New Zealand1901:23,8334,174
South Africa331:1,641,74981,435
Ireland171:276,9969,887
Northern Ireland61:307,50612,899
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Germany31:26,835,153452,368
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Malaysia21:14,747,112316,340
Mexico21:62,063,10283,384
Indonesia21:66,124,597756,638
United Arab Emirates21:4,581,13693,443
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Thailand21:35,319,172966,191
Aruba11:103,4772,586
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Barbados11:287,4482,772
France11:66,422,722504,397
Venezuela11:30,204,07785,459
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Russia11:144,123,056881,408
Pakistan11:178,643,885213,220
Kuwait11:3,800,69427,187
Israel11:8,557,634182,558
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland211:210,9469,809
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Scotland4631:8,0851,100
England811:300,93020,318
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States7071:71,0317,643

Wardlaw (29) may also be a first name.

Wardlaw Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

"There are in Scotland several places named Wardlaw, from which this surname may have been derived, but there is no evidence of the existence of Wardlaws of that Ilk" (Stodart. 11. p. 182). The place name Wardlaw, net Beauly, "the hillock where watch and ward was :pt by the retainers of the Norman lord of the Aird, John Byset," occurs so early as 1210 (as Wardelaue) and is interesting as showing the early introduction of the English language there. The first of the surname in Scotland appears to have been Henricus de Wardlaw who received a charter from Robert I of half the barony of Wiltone in Roxburghshire (RMS., I, 17). Master Walter de Wardlaw, doctor 'sacre pagine,' was canon of Aberdeen in 1358 (Bain, IV, 17). Walter de Wardlaw, archdeacon of Lothian in 1363 (Egidii, p. 18) was afterwards the celebrated bishop of Glasgow, cardinal, and ambassador lo England. Henry of Wardelawe had a safe conduct into England in 1397 (Bain, IV, 490). Henry Wardlaw, nephew of the Cardinal, was bishop of St. Andrews (1403-1440), one of the most famous men of his time, a benefactor of his country, and founder of the University of St. Andrews. From his brother William (died 1420) was descended the Waidlaws of Pitreavie. Sir Patrick of Warlaw witnessed a charter by Hugh Fraser of Lovat in 1436 (Athole, p. 707), John of Wardlawe of Recardton received a safe conduct into England in 1464 (Bain, IV, 1346), and Alexander Wardlaw or Warlaw of Warenston was a witness in Edinburgh in 1467 (Neubotle, 299,300). Vardlaw 1465, Wartlaw 1657 Vardlau.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

(Scot.-Eng.) Dweller at the Ward- or Watch-Hill [v. under Ward; and + Old English hlœw, a hill] There are several hills of this name in Scotland.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

An ancient parish, merged in that of Kirk-hill, co. Inverness.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local. The parish of Kirkhill, in Moray, Scotland, was formerly called Wardlaws, because the garrison of Lovat were accustomed to keep watch or ward on the law or hill.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

From Wardlaw, an ancient parish of Scotland, co. Inverness. See Law.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

User-submitted Reference

This surname was taken by those who lived in Wardlaw, near Beauly, in Inverness-shire. It was recorded as early as 1275 in the person of Henry de Wardlowe.

- Forebears.io

Wardlaw Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Wardlaw Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Wardlaw is borne by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It may appear in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Wardlaw? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 69,198th most widespread family name worldwide, borne by approximately 1 in 1,016,820 people. It is predominantly found in The Americas, where 67 percent of Wardlaw are found; 67 percent are found in North America and 67 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 1,951,561st most commonly used given name at a global level. It is borne by 29 people.

This last name is most common in The United States, where it is carried by 4,803 people, or 1 in 75,465. In The United States it is mostly found in: South Carolina, where 14 percent live, Texas, where 14 percent live and Georgia, where 10 percent live. Besides The United States this surname exists in 30 countries. It is also common in Australia, where 10 percent live and Scotland, where 10 percent live.

Wardlaw Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Wardlaw has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Wardlaw last name expanded 679 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 149 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it expanded 544 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it declined 19 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Wardlaw Last Name Statistics demography

The religious devotion of those bearing the Wardlaw last name is predominantly Anglican (57%) in Ireland.

In The United States Wardlaw are 23.71% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 70.48% being registered with the political party.

The amount Wardlaw earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 267.13% more than the national average, earning R 872,448 per year; in United States they earn 1.9% less than the national average, earning $42,330 USD per year and in Canada they earn 22.22% more than the national average, earning $60,724 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Wardlauw931/
Wardlaws930/
Wardlow864,247/
Wordlaw86718/
Wardlab864/
Werdlaw861/
Wardlowe801/
Wordlow71160/
Werdlow7157/
Vardlow714/
Bardlow714/
Wordleaf671/

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Wardlaw
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis