The hare Surname
hare Name Meaning and History
- Irish (Ulster): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÍr, meaning ‘long-lasting’. In Ireland this name is found in County Armagh; it has also long been established in Scotland.
- Irish: Anglicized form of Ó hAichir ‘descendant of Aichear’, a personal name derived from the epithet aichear ‘fierce’, ‘sharp’. In Ireland this name is more commonly Anglicized as O’Hehir.
- English: nickname for a swift runner (possibly a speedy messenger) or a timorous person, from Middle English hare ‘hare’. However, the surname Ayer and its variants was sometimes recorded as Hare.
- English: topographic name from an Old English hær ‘rock’, ‘heap of stones’, ‘tumulus’.
- French: according to Morlet, an occupational name for a huntsman, from a medieval French call used to urge on the hounds, or, in the form Haré, from the past participle of harer ‘to excite, stir up (hounds in pursuit of a quarry)’.
Dictionary of American Family Names, Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-508137-4
Learn the meaning and history of your first name
Share this page with friends and family
Search for hare records
More resources for your hare family history
Hare message board
Threads: 435 - Messages: 1255
Start your FREE family tree. Who will you discover?
A family tree is the easiest way to start discovering your family history. To begin, just enter whatever you know and we'll use that to try and find more information for you.
Begin your family tree with your name:
The hare name in History
A unique volume of fascinating facts, statistics and commentary following the hare family name as far back in history as possible.
Member Connections
- Anonymously contact one of the Ancestry members researching the hare last name.
- Search for Ancestry members researching one of your specific ancestors.
- Create or update your own Ancestry member profile so that other members can anonymously contact you.
More Tools and Resources
- Search Ancestry.com for all of your hare ancestors.
- Create and publish your own family history book using Ancestry Press.
- Learn more about your family history using DNA Ancestry.
- Learn more about family history in the Ancestry Learning Center.
- Visit the Ancestry.com homepage.