Adair Language(s) Gaelic Meaning "happy spear" or "ford of the oaks" Region of origin England , Scotland , Ulster 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 [ edit ]
Al Adair (1929–1996), Canadian baseball player, radio broadcaster, author, politician
Alex Adair (born 1994), British DJ, producer and remixer
Allan Adair (1897–1988), British army officer, 6th Baronet
Archibald Adair (died 1647), Irish Anglican bishop
Barbara Adair , South African author
Beegie Adair (1937–2022), American jazz pianist
Belle Adair , American actress
Benjamin Frank Adair (1852–1902), American politician
Bethenia Angelina Owens-Adair (1840–1926), American social reformer, physician
Bill Adair (1913–2002), American baseball player/manager
Bill Adair (journalist) , founder of the PolitiFact website
Billy Adair , Soccer player in the American Soccer League
Bonnie Adair (born 1952), American swimmer/coach
Brian Adair (1935–2021), Scottish sports administrator
Bunny Adair (1905–1994), Australian politician
Catherine Steiner-Adair , Psychologist and author
Cecil Adair, pen name of author Evelyn Everett-Green
Charles Adair (soccer) (born 1971), American soccer player/coach
Sir Charles F. Adair Hore (1874–1950), Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Pensions
Charles Henry Adair (1851–1920), British admiral
Charles L. Adair (1902–1993) American admiral
Charles Wallace Adair (1914–2006), U.S. ambassador
Sir Charles William Adair (1822–1897), General in the Royal Marines
Cherry Adair (born 1951), American author
Christia V. Daniels Adair (1893–1989), African-American suffragist and civil rights worker
Cornelia Adair (1837–1921), Texas ranch landowner
Craig Adair (born 1963), New Zealand track cyclist
Daniel Adair (born 1975), Canadian drummer
Deb Adair (born 1966), Emmy award-winning sound engineer
Deborah Adair (born 1952), American actress
Donald Adair (born 1960), American figure skater
Doug Adair (1929–2019), U.S. TV news anchor and journalist
Douglass Adair (1912–1968), American historian
E. Ross Adair (1907–1983), U.S. Representative from Indiana
Edward Robert Adair (1888–1965), British and Canadian historian
Eleanor R. Adair (1926–2013), American scientist
Forrest Adair (1865–1936), real estate developer
George Adair (1823–1899), real estate developer
George W. Adair Jr. (1874–1921), real estate developer
Gilbert Adair (1944–2011), author and journalist
Gilbert Smithson Adair (1896–1979), British scientist
Green B. Adair (1840–1914), cotton merchant
Harry Adair (born 1997), English cricketer
Hazel Adair (1920–2015), British soap opera writer, film producer/director
Hazel Adair (novelist) (1900–1990), pen name of British author Hazel Iris Addis
Henry R. Adair (1882–1916), American lieutenant cavalry officer
Hubert Adair (1917–1940), World War II Royal Air Force pilot
Hugh Edward Adair, 3rd Baronet (1815–1902), British Liberal Party politician
Hugh R. Adair (1889–1971), Justice of the Montana Supreme Court
J. Leroy Adair (1887–1956), U.S. Representative from Illinois
James Adair (historian) (1709–1783), explorer and author
James Adair (serjeant-at-law) (c. 1743 –1798), Irish soldier, politician
James Makittrick Adair (1728–1802), Scottish army officer, doctor
Janet Adair (1901–2005), American Actress
Janice Adair (1905–1996), British actress
Jay Adair (born 1969/1970), American businessman, (CEO) of Copart
Jean Adair (1873–1953), Canadian Actress
Jerry Adair (1936–1987), American baseball player
Jessica Adair (born 1986), American basketball player
Jim Adair (born 1942), Canadian hockey player
Jimmy Adair (1907–1982), American baseball player, manager and coach
John Adair (1757–1840), American soldier, politician (Kentucky)
John Adair (anthropologist) (1913–1997), Professor of Anthropology
John Adair (author) (born 1934), UK leadership expert
John Adair (surveyor) (c. 1655 –1722), Scottish surveyor and mapmaker
John A. M. Adair (1864–1938), U.S. Representative from Indiana
John Frederick Adair (1852–1913), Irish physicist and cricketer
John G. Adair , Canadian psychologist
John George "Black Jack" Adair (1823–1885), Scots-Irish businessman
John Ronald Shafto Adair (1893–1960), Australian businessman and aviator
Johnny Adair (born 1963), Ex-Loyalist Paramilitary
Joseph Adair (1877–1960), Canadian politician
Mark Adair (born 1996), Irish cricketer
Mary Adair (born 1936), Cherokee Nation educator and painter
Molly Adair (1905–1990), British actress
Nancy Adair , documentary producer
Natasha Adair (born 1972), women's college basketball coach
Patrick Adair (1624–1694), Irish Presbyterian minister
Perry Adair (1899–1953), American amateur golfer
Peter Adair (1943–1996), film-maker and artist
Red Adair (1915–2004), oil field fire-fighter
Rhona Adair (1878–1961), British golf champion
Rick Adair (born 1958), American baseball player, coach
Robert Adair (actor) (1900–1954), American-born British actor
Robert Adair (cricketer) (1876–1951), Irish cricketer
Robert Adair (physicist) (1924–2020), Physics professor
Robert Adair (politician) (1763–1855), English diplomat
Robert Adair, 1st Baron Waveney (1811–1886), British politician
Rod Adair , American politician
Ron Adair (born 1931), Australian former association footballer
Ross Adair (born 1994), Irish cricketer
Sandra Adair (born 1952), American film editor
Sean Adair (born 1986), South African cricketer
Thelma C. Davidson Adair (born 1920), Presbyterian educator, guest speaker educator, and activist
Thomas Benjamin Stratton Adair (1868–1928), Rear Admiral and Scottish politician
Tom Adair (1913–1988), American songwriter, composer, and screenwriter
Trevor Adair (c. 1961 –2020), Soccer coach
Virginia Hamilton Adair (1913–2004), American poet
William Penn Adair (c. 1828 –1880), second chief of the Cherokee nation, and the person for whom Will Rogers was named
Sir William Thompson Adair (1850–1931), Royal Marine officer and Ulster Unionist
Fictional characters [ edit ]
List of persons with the given name [ edit ]
Adair Blain (1894–1983), Australian politician
Adair Ford Boroughs (born 1979/1980), American lawyer and politician
Adair Cardoso (born 1993), Brazilian singer and composer
Adair Crawford (1748–1795), Scots-Irish chemist
Adair Dyer , Attorney, international law
Adair Ferguson (born 1955), Australian rower
Adair Bushyhead "Paddy" Mayes (1885–1963), Major League Baseball player
Adair Roche, Baron Roche (1871–1956), British judge
Adair Tishler (born 1996), American child Actress
Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell (born 1955), British businessman
See also [ edit ]
References [ edit ]