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Farrar History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Farrar History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland
Scotland

The founding heritage of the Farrar family is in the Anglo-Saxon culture that once dominated in Britain. The name Farrar comes from when one of the family worked as a shoer of horses, or a farrier. 1 2

In the Middle Ages, horses were the only alternative to walking as a means of transportation. This made the farrier a very important person; not only did they replace horseshoes, but they also diagnosed any number of ailments of the animals. In short, their job was to keep the horse on the road and in good health. This importance was reflected in the fact that they were often free, instead of being bonded to the land in the way that serfs and peasants were.

While this is the generally accepted etymology of the name, one noted source claims the name to be a "corruption of Fair-hair, answering to Le Blond, Harfager, &c. In the Hundredorum Rolls, we have Fayrher. In a document of the year 1555, a Norfolk incumbent is called John Fayrhawr, alias Farrar. " 3

"All these names are variations of Ferrer. The unstressed -er was slurred in pronunciation and variously spelled -ey, -ah, -a, giving Farrey, Farrah and Farra. This was regarded as an incorrect dialectal pronunciation and the name was re-spelled Farrow, on the analogy of barrow. At Hoxne (Suffolk) in 1835, Dinah Farrer signed the marriage register Farrow. Initial Ph- for F- is common and Pharrow, Pharoe were associated with the biblical Pharaoh, which, however, may occasionally be a pageant name or a nickname." 4

Early Origins of the Farrar family

The surname Farrar was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire at Wortley, a chapelry, in the parish of St. Peter, liberty of the borough of Leeds. "This place, in the Domesday Survey styled Wyrteley, formerly belonged to the Farrars, of Halifax, from whom the manor was purchased in 1766 by the family of the present owner." 5 "Once a great Yorkshire trade-name, now a great Yorkshire surname." 1

"The West Riding of Yorkshire would seem to be the principal home of the Farrars or Farrers, though the name has long been known in this county. There was a gentle family of Farrar at Harrold in the 17th century. The Farrers of Halifax were an ancient gentle family, possessing the Eawood estate in that parish in the 16th century (W.); and William Farrer was a Halifax gentleman in the reign of Charles II. (D.). The Farrers of Leeds were an old family of Wortley in that parish, and were lords of the manor at the beginning of last century: in 1694, Miles Farrer was master of the Free School, Leeds; one branch of this family trace their pedigree to the time of Elizabeth." 6

The Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 included the following entries: Willelmus Ferour, ferour; Johannes Crayk, ferour; Hugo Farrour; and Thomas Farrour. 1

As one would expect with Yorkshire's proximity to Scotland, some of the first records in Scotland were "William Farar, chaplain and charter witness, 1491. Walter Fayrhare was a forestalls in Aberdeen, 1402. In 1559 John Farar in Inverness 'is contentit and he be fundyn slaing salmon on the Vater of Nes to be hangit'" 7 In some cases the name could have been a variant of Farquhar.

Early History of the Farrar family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Farrar research. Another 294 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1379, 1402, 1525, 1562, 1585, 1613, 1632, 1641, 1642, 1652, 1675, 1679, 1689, 1691, 1692, 1754, 1796, 1802, 1837, 1879 and 1884 are included under the topic Early Farrar History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farrar Spelling Variations

The first dictionaries that appeared in the last few hundred years did much to standardize the English language. Before that time, spelling variations in names were a common occurrence. The language was changing, incorporating pieces of other languages, and the spelling of names changed with it. Farrar has been spelled many different ways, including Farrar, Farrer, Farror, Farrough, Farrow, Farrowe, Varrow, Varrowe, Varow, Vairow, Varer and many more.

Early Notables of the Farrar family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Robert Farrier (1796-1879), was an English painter, born at Chelsea, and resided in that locality during the whole of his life. John Farrar (1802-1884), was president of the Wesleyan Methodist confere...

Farrar Ranking

In the United States, the name Farrar is the 2,205^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,922 people with that name. 8

Migration of the Farrar family to Ireland

Some of the Farrar family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Farrar migration to the United States +

Thousands of English families in this era began to emigrate the New World in search of land and freedom from religious and political persecution. Although the passage was expensive and the ships were dark, crowded, and unsafe, those who made the voyage safely were rewarded with opportunities unavailable to them in their homeland. Research into passenger and immigration lists has revealed some of the very first Farrars to arrive in North America:

Farrar Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Farrar, who settled in Virginia in 1623
William Farrar, who arrived in Virginia in 1623 9
Elizabeth Farrar, who landed in Massachusetts in 1635 9
Robert Farrar, aged 24, who arrived in Virginia in 1635 aboard the ship "Transport" 9
Thomas Farrar, who landed in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1639 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farrar Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Heinrich Farrar, who arrived in Carolina in 1743 9

Farrar Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J H Farrar, who arrived in America in 1801 9
Samuel Farrar, aged 32, who arrived in Massachusetts in 1812 9
Thomas Farrar, aged 85, who landed in Virginia in 1812 9
John Morgan Farrar, who landed in Baltimore, Maryland in 1817 9
Thomas Farrar, aged 28, who arrived in New York, NY in 1822 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Farrar migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Farrar Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Richard Farrar, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Farrar Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Prentice Farrar, who arrived in Canada in 1828

Farrar migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Farrar Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Alfred Farrar, aged 35, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" in 1840 10
Mr. Farrar, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Duke of Roxburgh" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 11
Alice Farrar, who arrived in Lyttelton, New Zealand aboard the ship "Blairgowrie" in 1875

Contemporary Notables of the name Farrar (post 1700) +

Frank Leroy Farrar (1929-2021), American politician, 24th Governor of South Dakota (1969-1971)
Jimmy Farrar (1950-2018), American singer, songwriter and musician from La Grange, Georgia, known for his work with Molly Hatchet (1980-1982)
Scott Farrar, American Academy Award winning visual artist, known for his work on Transformers (2007), Minority Report (2002) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Freddy "Fuzzy" Farrar (b. 1924), Welsh-born, American trumpet player with Tommy Dorsey
Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967), American opera singer, best known for "the intimate timbre of her voice"
Tyler Farrar (b. 1984), American professional road racing cyclist
F. F. Farrar, American politician, Mayor of Erie, Pennsylvania, 1865 12
Elbert O. Farrar, American Republican politician, Member of New York State Assembly from Onondaga County 2nd District, 1882-83 12
Edward Farrar, American politician, Mayor of Keene, New Hampshire, 1876-77 12
David Farrar (1825-1907), American Republican politician, Mayor of Lewiston, Maine, 1882-83 12
... (Another 27 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Farrar family +

HMS Hood

Mr. Clifton Farrar (b. 1919), English Marine serving for the Royal Marine from Dewsbury, Yorkshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 13

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Baring-Gould S., Family Names and their Story. London: Seeley, Service & Co. Limited, 1913. Print
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 5th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm