Wade is a surname. The English surname Wade has two derivations: a Middle English given name "Wade", itself derived from the Anglo-Saxon name "Wada"; the second derivation is from the word or place-name "wade", meaning a ford (Wade being applied either to one who lived near a ford, or in a settlement called Wade, e.g. Wade, Suffolk).
Variants of this surname include Waide and Wadey, the latter a diminutive variant. There is also a documented relationship between Wade and Waythe, the latter derived by a variant form of "wade" meaning a ford, that being "wath"; there is likewise a relationship between Wade/Waythe and Ford/Forth.
Notable people with the surname include:
Abdoulaye Wade (born 1926), President of SenegalAinley Wade, pharmaceutical historian and former editor of Martindale: The Extra PharmacopoeiaApril Wade, American actress and producerBenjamin Wade (1800–1878), American lawyer and United States Senator from OhioBernie L. Wade (born 1963), American minister, President of the International Circle of FaithBill Wade (born 1930), former American footballerBobby Wade (born 1981), American footballerCharles Wade (1863–1922), Premier of New South Wales (1907–10)Chris Wade (real estate broker), real estate broker involved in the American Whitewater scandalChristopher Wade, English martyrCory Wade (born 1983), American Major League Baseball playerDavid Wade (general) (1911–1990), American lieutenant generalDavid Wade (politician) (born 1950), Australian former politicianDonald Wade, Baron Wade (1904–1988), British Liberal Party politicianDoug Wade (born 1941), former Australian rules footballerDwyane Wade (born 1982), American basketball playerEd Wade (born 1956), general manager of the Major League Baseball Houston AstrosGeorge Wade (1673–1748), British military commanderHenry Wade (1914–2001), Texas lawyer and lead defendant in Roe v. WadeHenry William Rawson Wade (commonly known as William Wade; 1918–2004), British legal academicHenry Wade, pen name of British mystery writer Sir Henry Aubrey-Fletcher, 6th Baronet (1887-1969)Ian Wade (born 1975), Bristol photographerJames Wade (born 1983), English darts playerJason Wade (born 1980), singer/songwriterJeremy Wade (born 1956), British TV presenter (River Monsters) and fishing authorJohn Francis Wade (1711–1786), English composerJoseph Augustine Wade (1796–1845), Irish composerMark Wade (born 1965), American retired basketball playerMark Sweeten Wade (1859–1929), Canadian medical doctor and historianMartin Joseph Wade (1861–1931), U.S. Democratic Representative from IowaMary Wade (1777–1859), the youngest convict transported to Australia aboard the Lady JulianaMary Hazelton Blanchard Wade (1860–1936), American writerMary Virginia "Ginnie" Wade (1843-1863), the only civilian casualty in the Battle of GettysburgMary Wade (paleontologist) (1928–2005), Australian paleontologistMatthew Wade (born 1987), Australian cricketerMichael Wade, deceased Canadian actorNicholas Wade (born 1942 in England), US science writer and authorLogan Wade (born 1991), Australian baseball playerPaul Wade (born 1962), retired Australian footballerRebekah Wade, afterwards Rebekah Brooks, English journalistRobert Wade (disambiguation), severalRosalind Wade (1909–1989), British novelistScott Wade (born 1960), former Australian rules footballerThomas M. Wade (1860-1929), American politician and educatorThomas Wade (writer) (1805–1875), English poet and dramatistThomas Francis Wade (1818–1895), British diplomat and sinologistThomas James Wade (1893-1969), American Roman Catholic bishopVirginia Wade (born 1945), tennis player from the United KingdomWallace Wade (1892–1986), American college sports coachWayne Wade (born 1959), Jamaican reggae musicianWilliam H. Wade (born 1835), American politician