Wardlaw
A Scottish locational surname meaning “dweller by the watch-hill” or “guard hill.”
The #9,720 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 92,522 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Wardlaw is a place-based surname from a Scottish place-name. The name is commonly explained as combining Old English ward, “watch” or “guard,” with law, an old Scots and northern English word for a hill. In plain terms, it refers to someone living at or near a lookout hill or watch hill.
History
The surname is strongly associated with the old parish of Wardlaw in Inverness-shire, later linked with Kirkhill. Early surname writers also connected it with the defensive role of the district, where a garrison kept watch from the hill. The form is well established in Scotland and later spread more widely through migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several hills in Scotland have been called Wardlaw, which is why the surname can appear in more than one local family line.
From the historical record
“Boldon Book. WARDLAW (Scot.-Eng.) Dweller at the Ward- or Watch-Hill [v. under Ward ; and -|- O.E. hldsw, a hill] There are several hills of this name in Scotland. WARDLE (Eng.) Bel. to Wardle ; or Dweller at the Ward- or Watch-Hill [v: under”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)