The bard Surname
bard Name Meaning and History
- Scottish: occupational name from Gaelic bàrd ‘poet’, ‘minstrel’, ‘singer’. See also Baird.
- Scottish: perhaps also a habitational name (early forms such as Henry de Barde and Richard de Baard are recorded, and ‘de’ usually signifies ‘from’), but no suitable place has been identified.
- French: habitational name from any of the several minor places called Bar(d), from the Gaulish element barro ‘height’, ‘hill’. Compare Barre.
- French: metonymic occupational name for someone who used a handcart or barrow in his work, from Old French bard ‘barrow’.
- French: from Old French bart ‘mud’, ‘clay’ (Late Latin barrum, apparently of Celtic origin), in which case it is either a topographic name for someone living in a muddy area or an occupational name for a builder or bricklayer.
- Hungarian (Bárd): metonymic occupational name for a butcher, woodcutter or carpenter, from bárd ‘hatchet’, ‘cleaver’. Derivation from bárd ‘poet’ is unlikely because the word was borrowed from Gaelic only in the late 18th century.
- Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname for someone with a luxurious beard, from a blend of German Bart and Yiddish bord, both meaning ‘beard’.
- Probably also an altered spelling of German Bart.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
Search for bard records
More resources for your bard family history
Bard message board
Threads: 105 - Messages: 229
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The bard name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the bard family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the bard last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.com for all of your bard ancestors.
- Create and publish your own family history book using Ancestry Press.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.com homepage.