Adair (name)


Adair is a surname derived from the Old English personal name Eadgar. In Ireland the surname is almost exclusive to Ulster and particularly to counties Antrim and Down. Here they are of Scottish origin where the surname is most common in Galloway. Many of the Galloway Adairs settled in Ulster during and after the Plantation. A few of the name in Ireland may be of the family name Ó Dáire.
There is another theory that "In about 1380, Robert Fitzgerald owned lands around Adare in Ireland. There he fought a family duel with 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 south western Scotland. To cover his tracks, Robert took as his surname 'Adare' after the town near his 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.

List of persons with the surname