Forde — Of the River Crossing

Forde takes its name directly from the English word for a shallow river crossing, most likely marking where an early ancestor lived or held land. The name settled into Connacht, particularly Galway and Mayo, without ever picking up a Gaelic form of its own.

A plain, practical name for a plain, practical thing — and it travelled to Connacht and stayed, Gaelic form or none.

Irish form: (no Gaelic form)