by Jim Young (guest)
10/7/2005, 3:11 AM
English place-name? There is a place called Warland, near Rochdale in Lancashire. There may be others as it appears that the surname was established in Dorset in the 16th century.
As for the meaning, the first component may be an old personal name, identifying an owner or resident. Otherwise it could be from the word weir, meaning a dam across a river. A straightforward answer, I don't know.