<P> 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 . </P> <P> 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 . </P> <P> In the 2010 United States Census, Ward was the 79th most common surname . It is the 78th most common surname in Ireland . It was the 31st most common surname in the 1991 UK census and 40th in 2001 census, and in 2007, was found to be the most common surname in Lutterworth, Leicestershire . </P>

Where does the last name ward come from
find me the text answering this question