Contents [hide]

Fair History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Motto Citations

Fair History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
France
Ireland
Scotland
England

The Fair surname in Ireland is generally thought to have come from a translation of the Gaelic "fionn," meaning "fair." More often than not, the spelling in use in Ireland is with the "ph" as in Phair or Phayr. 1 Thus the name was originally given to one with fair hair or of a fair disposition and means "son of the fair one"

Early Origins of the Fair family

The surname Fair was first found in Ireland where according to O'Hart, the "family name came into Ireland with the Cromwellian Settlement, or with the Revolution." 2 This name is scattered throughout Ireland and instances of it nowadays are rare. However in its original form, Fionn, it holds an important part in Irish mythology, being the first name of the legendary hero, Fionn MacCumhaill, leader of the mighty warriors the Fianna.

It is generally thought that this Irish family was a branch from the family residing in Devon, England.

Early History of the Fair family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fair research. Another 22 words (2 lines of text) covering the years 1612, 1619, 1648, 1649, 1650, 1651, 1654, 1662 and 1682 are included under the topic Early Fair History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fair Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Fair, Faire, Faires, Fayer, Fayers, Fairs, Fare, Phair, Phaire, Phayre, Phares and many more.

Early Notables of the Fair family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was Robert Phayre (c.1619-1682) Governor of Cork, and soldier, one of the Regicides of King Charles I of England. He was held at the Tower of London, but after paying a substantial ransom and marrying the Protestant daughter of the Governor of the Tower of London, he was released in 1662. He came into prominence in connection with the outbreak of the second civil war. In February 1648 he held a command as lieutenant-colonel in the south of Ireland, when he was arrested, with three other officers, for refusing to join the royalist...
Another 231 words (16 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Fair Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fair Ranking

In the United States, the name Fair is the 1,479^th most popular surname with an estimated 19,896 people with that name. 3

Fair migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fair Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

William Fair, who landed in Virginia in 1704 4
Joseph Fair, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1772
William Fair, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1774

Fair Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Robert Fair, who arrived in Charleston, South Carolina in 1802 4
Richard Fair, who landed in Charleston, South Carolina in 1807 4
James Fair, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 4
Ann Fair, who landed in New York, NY in 1811 4
William Fair, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1812 4
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fair migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fair Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. Francis Fair U.E. who settled in Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 member of the Cape Ann Association 5

Fair Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

John Fair, who arrived in Canada in 1820
John Fair, who landed in Canada in 1831
Mr. John Fair, aged 29 who immigrated to Canada, arriving at the Grosse Isle Quarantine Station in Quebec aboard the ship "Triton" departing from the port of Liverpool, England but died on Grosse Isle in September 1847 6
Alice Fair, who settled in Ontario in 1871
Abraham Fair, who settled in Manitoba in 1891
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fair migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fair Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

William Fair, English convict from London, who was transported aboard the "Agamemnon" on April 22, 1820, settling in New South Wales, Australia 7
Mr. John Fair, English convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Enchantress"on 6th April 1833, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. William Fair, (b. 1829), aged 14, British labourer who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for larceny, transported aboard the "Asiatic" on 26th May 1843, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
Andrew Fair, aged 23, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1858 aboard the ship "Melbourne"

Fair 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:

Fair Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Jane Fair, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Sydenham" in 1870

Contemporary Notables of the name Fair (post 1700) +

Elinor Fair (1903-1957), American motion picture actress
Brian Fair (b. 1975), American musician, best known as lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Shadows Fall
Jad Fair (b. 1954), American singer, guitarist and graphic artist
Lorraine Ming "Lorrie" Fair (b. 1978), American member of the World Cup Champion United States national soccer team
Ron Fair, American record producer arranger, recording engineer and songwriter
Brigadier-General Ford Larimore Fair (1898-1946), American Chief of Staff, European Air Transport Service (1946) 10
James Graham Fair (1831-1894), Irish-born, American overnight millionaire part-owner of the Comstock Lode, a United States Senator and a colorful real estate and railroad speculator
Ray Clarence Fair (b. 1942), American Professor of Economics at Yale University
Ronald L Fair (b. 1932), American novelist, short story writer, and poet
Benjamin F. Fair, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1912 11
... (Another 26 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Fair family +

HMS Cornwall

John Fair, British Commander Executive Officer aboard the HMS Cornwall (1942) when she was struck by air bombers and sunk; he survived the sinking 12

HMS Hood

Mr. George W Fair (b. 1919), English Shipwright 4th Class serving for the Royal Navy from Birmingham, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking 13

The Fair Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Virtute tutus
Motto Translation: By Virtue Safe

Citations +

MacLysaght, Edward, Supplement to Irish Families. Baltimore: Genealogical Book Company, 1964. Print.
O'Hart, John, Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition in 2 Volumes. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1976. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0737-4)
"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)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Charbonneau, André, and Doris Drolet-Dubé. A Register of Deceased Persons at Sea and on Grosse Île in 1847. The Minister of Canadian Heritage, 1997. ISBN: 0-660-198/1-1997E (p. 27)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Agamemnon voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1820 with 179 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/agamemnon/1820
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/enchantress
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 14th July 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asiatic
Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, February 29) Ford Fair. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Fair/Ford_Larimore/USA.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Force Z Survivors Crew List HMS Cornwall (Retrieved 2018, February 13th) - Retrieved from https://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listcornwallcrew.html#A
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