Adair
Origin
Language(s)Gaelic
Meaning"happy spear" or "ford of the oaks"
Region of originEngland, Scotland, Ulster
Other names
Variant form(s)Athdare, Adair, Adare
Frequency Comparisons[1]

Adair is a surname of Scotland. A common misconception is that the surname is related to Edgar, Eadgar, O'daire or MacDaire. Robert Fitzgerald De Athdare was the first Adair. He was from what is now Limerick, Ireland.

Robert Fitzgerald fought for the honour of family and title against a Gerald, the white knight, a distant cousin. Although Robert Fitzgerald's father was the Earl of Desmond, the Fitzgeralds did not see Robert as a nobleman. It was unacceptable for him to kill a knight. A powerful group was against Robert. Robert became a fugitive, relocating to Wigtownshire in southwestern Scotland. To cover his tracks, Robert was granted his surname 'Adare' after the town near his father's lands back in Ireland. Upon arriving in Scotland, Robert learned that the King of Scotland had placed a bounty on the head of a man named 'Currie'. Currie was outlawed as a thief and pirate. The King promised Currie's castle, deemed nearly impregnable, to whoever would bring him the head of Currie. Robert Adare watched over Dunskey Castle for several days until Currie came out one evening. Robert followed Currie, and engaged the pirate in mortal combat, slaying him at the head of Colfin Glen. Robert took Currie's severed head to the court of Scotland, which explains the Adair crest of a severed head.[2][3]

List of persons with the surname

Fictional characters

List of persons with the given name

See also

References

  1. ↑ Adair Surname at Forebears
  2. ↑ Bell, Robert (1990) [1988]. The Book of Ulster Surnames (Paperback). Belfast: The Blackstaff Press Limited. ISBN 0-85640-405-5.
  3. ↑ "Robert De Fitzgerald story". Retrieved 20 August 2012.
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