The Meade name carries the legacy of one of the great merchant families of Norman Cork.
Where does the Meade name come from?
The Meade name is of Anglo-Norman origin and is generally traced to the Old English and Norman word for "mead" — either an occupational name for a maker or seller of mead, or a name drawn from a meadow place-name. After the Norman arrival in Ireland in the twelfth century the family put down roots in the south, and over the generations that followed the name became thoroughly Irish. In Ireland it is most closely tied to the city and county of Cork.
The Meades of Cork
The Meades rose to prominence as one of the leading merchant families of medieval and early-modern Cork, ranking among the influential city families who shaped trade, civic office and the mayoralty. Branches also settled in Counties Tipperary and Limerick. Like many Old English, or Hiberno-Norman, families of Munster, the Meades married into both Gaelic and Norman neighbours and largely kept the Catholic faith through the upheavals of the seventeenth century — a loyalty that cost several branches their lands in the confiscations of that era. Today the name is found across Ireland and among the diaspora in the United States, Canada, Australia and Britain.
Did you know?
- Meade is counted among the historic merchant families associated with the city of Cork.
- The name is Anglo-Norman in origin, linked to the word "mead" or to a meadow place-name.
- Meade branches spread into Tipperary and Limerick as well as Cork.
- The Meades were among the Old English families who held to Catholicism and lost lands in the seventeenth-century confiscations.
- General George Meade, the Union commander at the Battle of Gettysburg, came from a family of Irish-Catholic descent bearing this name.
Related Irish family names
Carry the Meade name with you
From woven blankets and mugs to ornaments and garden flags, our Meade collection lets you display the family crest and tartan artwork of this historic Cork name. Search your surname in our store to see the full range for the Meade family.
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Meade family come from in Ireland?
The Meades are most strongly associated with the city and county of Cork, where they were a leading merchant family, with later branches in Tipperary and Limerick.
Is Meade an Irish or an English name?
It is Anglo-Norman in origin, brought to Ireland after the twelfth-century Norman settlement, and over the centuries it became one of the established Old English families of Munster.
Is there a Meade family crest?
Families of the name have heraldic traditions; the crest and tartan artwork on our Meade products is created as decorative heritage artwork to celebrate the name.
