Origin
Wada : 1: Japanese: written 和田 ‘harmonious rice paddy’. An older formerly more common reading was Nigita with a meaning similar to that of Yoshida. One powerful family of daimyō (feudal lords) descended from the Taira through the Miura family took their name from the village of Wada in the Miura Peninsula.2: West African (Nigeria and Niger): from a Hausa and Fulani male personal name from Hausa wada ‘wealth’.
Wadas : 1: Polish: perhaps an unflattering nickname from wada ‘fault defect’.2: Americanized form of Hungarian and Jewish Vadász ‘hunter’ (see Vadasz) or of its Czech and Slovak homonym or cognate Vadas.
Waddingham : English (Lincolnshire): habitational name from Waddingham in Lincolnshire. The placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada + the Old English groupname suffix -ingas (genitive -inga-) + hām ‘village homestead’.
Waddington : English (Yorkshire and Lancashire): habitational name mostly from Waddington in Yorkshire but also from Waddington in Lincolnshire and perhaps occasionally Waddington in Coulsdon (Surrey). The first two placenames derive from the Old English personal name Wada + Old English connective -ing- + tūn ‘farmstead estate’. The Surrey placename derives from Old English hwǣte ‘wheat’ later hwǣten ‘growing with wheat’ + dūn ‘hill’.
Wade : 1: English: from the Middle English personal name Wade (Old English Wada or via Norman French from ancient Germanic Wado of unclear origin but possibly related to Old English wadan ‘to go’).2: English: topographic name from Middle English wade ‘ford’ (Old English (ge)wæd ‘ford especially a tidal crossing’) for someone who lived by a ford or a habitational name from a place so called such as Wade Hall in North Cove (Suffolk).3: Irish: shortened and altered from Mac Uaid see McQuaid.4: German: occupational name or nickname from Middle Low German wade ‘garment large net’.5: West African (mainly Senegal also Mauritania): Wolof name of unexplained etymology.
Wadham : from Wadham in Knowstone (Devon) which is recorded as Wadeham in 1086 and Wodham in 1244. The place-name derives from the Old English personal name Wada or Old English wād ‘woad’ + hām ‘village homestead’ or hamm ‘enclosure water meadow’.
Wadhams : English: variant of Wadham with post-medieval excrescent -s a habitational name from Wadham in Knowstone (Devon). The placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada or Old English wād ‘woad’ + hām ‘village homestead’ or hamm ‘water meadow’. Wadham College Oxford was founded in 1610 by Dorothy Wadham widow of Nicholas Wadham (died 1609) a wealthy Somerset landowner.
Wadland : from Wadland Barton in Ashbury (Devon) which is recorded as Wadeland in 1244 or Wadland in Liskeard (Cornwall) which is recorded as Wadelond in 1333. The place-names may derive from the Old English personal name Wada Old English (ge)wæd ‘ford’ or wād ‘woad’ + land ‘land’.
Wadley : English: habitational name from numerous places. In southern England this can be derived from Wadley in Faringdon (Berkshire) or perhaps from Whatley (Somerset) Whateley in Kingsbury (Warwickshire) Wheatley (Oxfordshire) or Wheatley in Rayleigh (Essex) the latter of which often appears as Watelegh in the medieval records. The Berkshire placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada + Old English lēah ‘woodland clearing’. The other placenames derive from Old English hwǣte ‘wheat’ + lēah. Compare Wheatley. In some instances where the name originates from southeastern England Wadley may alternatively be a post-medieval variant of Wadlow. In northern England primarily Durham this is a habitational name from Wadley in Witton le Wear (Durham). The placename derives from the Old English personal name Wada Wadda + Old English lēah.
Wadlow : English: from a lost place in some cases no doubt Wadlow in Toddington (Bedfordshire) which is probably named with the Old English personal name Wada + Old English hlāw ‘mound hill’. Other possibilities include Wadloo Farms in West Wratting (Cambridgeshire) though it is unknown whether this was an inhabited place in the period of surname formation. The Cambridgeshire placename means ‘look-out hill’ from Old English weard ‘watch protection’ + hlāw. This surname is also found in Suffolk and Norfolk and may be from an unidentified place there. This name is also perhaps a variant of Wadley.
Wadworth : from Wadworth (WR Yorks) which is recorded as Wadeworth in 1218. The place-name derives from the Old English personal name Wada Wadda + Old English worð ‘enclosure’.
Watton : English:: 1: variant of Watten from the Middle English personal name Wat a pet form of Walter (see Watt) with the characteristically West Midland genitival suffix -en.2: habitational name from Watton (East Yorkshire) or perhaps in some cases from Watton (Norfolk) Watton at Stone (Hertfordshire) or Wattons in Bere Ferrers (Devon). The Yorkshire placename derives from Old English wēt ‘wet’ later replaced by Old Norse vátr ‘wet’ + Old English dūn ‘hill’. The Norfolk and Devon placenames probably derive from the Old English personal name Wada + Old English tūn. The Hertfordshire placename probably derives from Old English wād ‘woad’ + tūn.
Woodhurst : English: habitational name from either of two places so named in Slaugham (Sussex) or in Huntingdonshire both named with Old English wudu ‘wood’ + hyrst ‘small wooded hill’. The surname could also be from Wadhurst (Sussex) which is recorded as Wadehurst in 1253; it derives from the Old English personal name Wada + hyrst.
Woodworth : English (Lancashire): variant of Woodward or Wadworth the latter being a habitational name from Wadworth in Yorkshire which is derived from the Old English personal name Wada Wadda + Old English worth ‘enclosure’.
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Source : DAFN2 : Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, ©2022 by Patrick Hanks and Oxford University Press
FANBI : The Oxford Dictionary if Family Names in Britain and Ireland, ©2016, University of the West of England
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