Forde (surname)

Forde is an Irish surname, and is derived from a number of Gaeilge names.

Forde
Language(s)Irish
Origin
Language(s)Gaeilge
Word/nameMac Giollarnáth
DerivationFord (crossing)
MeaningMac an Áth, (Son of the Ford (crossing)
Other names
Anglicisation(s)Forde, Ford

History

The name is popular throughout the four Provinces of Ireland, especially in Co. Galway, Co. Leitrim and Co. Tipperary.[1]

Mac Giolla Naomh and Mac Giollarnáth

"Mac Giolla Naomh," meaning "son of the devotee of the saints" was an Irish clann / Sept that originated in southern Connemara, Connacht. Over the years, however, "Mac Giolla Naomh," which was incorrectly transcribed as Mac Giollarnáth, and then erroneously translated as Ford (surname) or Forde, from the resemblance of the final syllable to Áth, a Ford (crossing).[2]

Mac Consnámha

The name Forde also comes from "Mac Consnámha," or "son of the swimming hound." This Connacht Sept was the name of a family in Co. Leitrim who were formerly chiefs of Muinter Kenny, in the present, Drumahaire (barony). Often, due to translation the surname was referred to as "Mac an Atha," son of the Ford (crossing), and has therefore been Anglicised as Kinneavy, MacKinnawe or erroneously as Forde.

Ó Fuartháin (Fuaráin)

Lastly, in Co. Cork and Co. Waterford, the name was an Anglicised version of Ó Fuaráin, meaning "descendant of Fuarthán". The personal name Fuartháin, derived from the Gaeilge fuar ("cold"), was once taken to represent the Gaeilge fuarathán ("cold little ford"), which led to the surname being translated as Ford (surname) or Forde although more often it was Anglicised as Foran. The ancestor of Henry Ford (USA) came from Co. Cork in 1847.[3][4][5]

Forde variants

Variants of the name Forde include Ford (surname) and Foord and is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading through the Celtic nations. However, this term originally comes from the Norse fjord meaning a narrow inlet of the sea. More recently Forde and Ford (surname) has often been regarded as a locality name meaning 'river crossing' from a person who lived beside a Ford (river crossing).

Historical Examples of the surname and its derivatives include Richard de la Forde, of Norfolk, England, who was recorded in the Hundred Rolls in the year 1273 and a Thomas de Furd who was a presbyter in the diocese of Saint Andrews, Scotland, in the year 1406. A Peter ate Ford, was recorded in the Writs of Parliament, in the year 1313 and a Hugh Ford, of Wigan, was recorded in the 'Wills at Chester', in the year 1661. On March 2nd 1589 Izabell Forde and Henry Embertonn were married in St. Giles Cripplegate, London, Sir Ambrose Forde was knighted at Leixlip, CO. Kildare, by Sir George Carey (c. 1541 – 1616), the Lord Deputy, on August 2nd 1604. The first recorded spelling of the name is shown to be that of Bruman de la Forda, which was dated 1066, in the Book of Winton, Hampshire (included in the Domesday Book of 1086), during the reign of William the Conqueror, 1066-1087.[6]

Thus, there are also many Irish bearers of this name, who are of English origin as many Ford's settled in Ireland with the plantation from England, the most notable of these arriving from Devonshire and were landowners in Co. Meath.[7]

Forde Coat of Arms

Meaning of symbols and colours on the Forde Coate of Arms
  • Azure/Blue - Represents Loyalty and Truth.
  • Gules/Red - 'The Martyr's colour', signifies military fortitude and magnanimity.
  • Yellow/Gold - Represents generosity.
  • Pale Helmet - Denotes military strength and fortitude.
  • Martlet - One has been dispossessed of land. Sign for the fourth son. In Ireland, the Martlet was the bird of perpetual movement.
  • Red Rose - Signifies beauty and grace.[8]

Forde Motto

Lucrum Christi mihi can be translated as "Without Christ, there is no light".

Notable people with the surname Forde include:
  • Liam Forde (1891–1958), alias of Séamas Ó Maoiléoin (aka James Malone), Irish revolutionary spy.
  • Jason Forde, is an Irish hurler who plays for Tipperary senior hurling team.
  • Robert Forde (1875–1959), was an Antarctic explorer and member of the Terra Nova Expedition under Captain Robert Falcon Scott.
  • Brinsley Forde, (born 1952) is a Guyanese actor and musician.
  • David Forde (soccer), (born 1979) is an Irish football player.
  • Samuel Forde (1805–1828), was an Irish painter.
  • Eugenie Forde (1879–1940), was an American silent film actress.
  • Evan Forde (born 1952), is an American oceanographer.
  • Bernie Forde, (born November 1957) is an Irish retired hurler who played as a right corner-forward for the Galway senior team.
  • Florrie Forde (1876–1940), was an Australian singer and entertainer.
  • Frank Forde (1890–1983), was Australian Prime Minister and lifelong politician.
  • Gerhard Forde (1927–2005), was an American Lutheran Theologian.
  • Jewel Forde, is a Barbadian television presenter.
  • Leneen Forde, Canadian-born solicitor, University chancellor and Governor of Queensland, Australia.
  • Mattie Forde, Irish Gaelic footballer.
  • Mike Forde, (born 1955) NYC District Council of Carpenters Executive Secretary-Treasurer.
  • Pat Forde, American sportswriter.
  • Shawna Forde, (born 1967) was an American anti-illegal immigration activist charged with murder in 2009.
  • Sheri Forde, Canadian sports reporter
  • Victoria Forde (1896–1964), was an American silent film actress.
  • Nadia Forde, is an Irish model, singer and actress
  • Tommy Forde, (born March 1931) was a Northern Irish former professional footballer
  • Norman Forde, (born April 1977) is a Barbadian footballer
  • Walter Forde (1898–1984), was a British actor, screenwriter and director.
  • Patricia Forde, (born 1960) was former Director of the Galway Arts Festival and an Irish children's author.
  • Martin Forde, (born November 1923) is a retired labour union activist.
  • Seán Mac Giollarnáth (1880-1970), was an Irish folklorist.
  1. http://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=forde&capname=Forde&letter=f
  2. (Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall
  3. MacLysaght, Edward, Irish Families, Dublin, 1980
  4. https://www.houseofnames.com/forde-family-crest
  5. https://www.johngrenham.com/findasurname.php?surname=Mac%20Giollarnath
  6. https://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Forde
  7. http://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=forde&capname=Forde&letter=f
  8. http://www.irishsurnames.com/cgi-bin/gallery.pl?name=forde&capname=Forde&letter=f
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