Sir John Meade, 1st Baronet (1642–1707) was an Irish barrister, judge and politician. He was the first of the Meade Baronets of Balintubber, and an ancestor of the Earls of Clanwilliam. He was unusual among the lawyers of his time for his lack of ambition to become a judge of the High Court, despite being generally regarded as a barrister of "excellent parts (qualities)". In matters of religion, he seems to have been, by the standards of his time, a man of very tolerant views: although he was himself a Protestant, he damaged his career by marrying Elizabeth Butler, who was a Roman Catholic, as his third wife.

Earl of Clanwilliam is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1776 for John Meade, 1st Viscount Clanwilliam. The Meade family descends from Sir John Meade, who represented Dublin University and County Tipperary in the Irish House of Commons and served as Attorney-General to James, Duke of York. In 1703, he was created a Baronet, of Ballintubber in the County of Cork, in the Baronetage of Ireland. His eldest son, Pierce, the second Baronet, died unmarried at an early age and was succeeded by his younger brother Richard, the third Baronet. Richard represented Kinsale in the Irish Parliament.