Carda Family History

Spanish and Portuguese: from carda ‘teasel’, ‘carder’ (from Latin carduus ‘thistle’), hence a metonymic occupational name for someone who carded (disentangled) wool, the dried heads of teasels and thistles having originally been used for this purpose. Italian (Cardà): probably a topographic name from Greek kardas ‘thistle field’. Czech: nickname for a cunning, clever, or sly person, Old Czech or Moravian dialect carda.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press