Ward (surname) Ward (surname) Ward is a popular Old English origin and Old Gaelic origin surname dating to before the Norman conquest of 1066 and Ireland, common in English-speaking countries. The Old English name derives from an occupational surname for a civil guard/keeper of the watch, or alternately as a topographical surname from the word "werd" ("marsh"). The Old Gaelic surname derives from "Mac an Bhaird" ("son of the Bard"), a bard being a storyteller or poet. The two names are completely unrelated ethnically one being Germanic and the other Celtic. The oldest public record of the surname dates to 1176. In
Forrestal (surname) Forrestal (surname) Forrestal or Forristal (Irish: Ó Fuireastal), is an old Irish surname common in the southeast of Ireland, namely in the counties of Kilkenny, Wexford and Waterford. The name has been spelled in many different forms, all of which are related to the same family including; O'Forristal, Forrestal, Forristal, Forestal, Forestal, Forrestall, Foristal, and in medieval times, Forstall. Forestell is a variation found in Canada. Also, in Gaelic Irish as Ó Fuireastal (pronounced O'Furristhawl), Mac Fuireastal, and Mac An Choill. The Forristals were rooted in Glenmore parish, County Kilkenny, where they held several castles, some of which were located