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
McLaughlin (surname) and M(a)cLoughlin are rarely English forms of the surname "ó/ní Lachtna", a phonetic corruption of the much more common "Loughney" or "M(a)cLoughney". Unlike Irish surnames that have only one Gaelic source for their English form, it is not possible to tell by the spelling "McLaughlin" and other English spellings whether the person bearing the name is descended from the "Mac/Nic Lochlainn" family, the "Ó/Ní M(h)ǽilsheáchlainn" family, or the "Ó/Ní Lachtna" family. [[Category:Anglicised Scottish Gaelic-language surnames]] [[Category:Anglicised Irish-language surnames]] [[Category:Surnames of Ulster-Scottish origin]] [[Category:Patronymic surnames]] McLaughlin (surname) M(a)cLaughlin is the most common English form of "Mac Lochlainn", a masculine surname of