An English surname of Byrd which referred to a bird catcher. The Middle English term was â€˜bridâ€™ which was a young bird.
Spelling variations for Byrd include Byrde and Bird.
In Cheshire the Byrd surname began in England. They then moved south into the regions of Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire and Somerset counties. Only in Lanarkshire county of Scotland does it have any population of Byrd families.
Throughout the southern states within the United States the Byrd family name is very common. It is found the most in North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia and Texas.
Famous: Chris Byrd (boxing champion), Leo Byrd (professional basketball player), Richard E. Byrd (explorer of the North and South Poles), Samuel Byrd (professional tennis player and baseball player), William Byrd (18th century founder of Richmond, VA), Dennis Byrd (professional football player) and Jonathan Byrd (singer).