Show ContentsHear History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The old Gaelic name used by the Hear family in Ireland was Ó hAodha, which means descendant of Aodha or descendant of Hugh.

Early Origins of the Hear family

The surname Hear was first found in County Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) the ancient Kingdom of Deis Muin (Desmond), located on the southwest coast of Ireland in the province of Munster, where this distinguished Irish family descended from the ancient Kings of Munster, and their territories were in the south western part of County Cork. Their ancient family seat was Aghamilly Castle in Pobble O'Hea.

Early History of the Hear family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hear research. Another 81 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1172, 1205 and 1700 are included under the topic Early Hear History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hear Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, scribes listened to a person's name and then decided the spelling from there. Names, therefore, often had many spelling variations. The variations of the name Hear include: O'Hea, Hea, Heas, Hees, O'Hear, Hayes, O'Hay, Hay and others.

Early Notables of the Hear family

More information is included under the topic Early Hear Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Hear migration to the United States +

Irish immigrants began to leave the English-controlled Ireland in sizable numbers during the late 18th century. Many of these Irish immigrated to British North America or the United States in the hopes of gaining their own tract of farmland. This pattern of migration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine caused a great exodus of immigrants to North America. These immigrants differed from their predecessors in that they were desperately fleeing the disease and starvation that plagued their homeland, and many were entirely destitute when they arrived in North America. Although these penniless immigrants were not warmly welcomed when they arrived, they were critical to the rapid development of the United States and what would become known as Canada. Many went to populate the western frontiers and others provided the cheap labor the new manufacturing sector and the building of bridges, roads, railways, and canals required. A thorough examination of immigration and passenger lists has revealed some of the earliest people to arrive in North America with name Hear or one of its variants:

Hear Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Samuel Hear, aged 33, who arrived in New York in 1719 1
Hear Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Felix Hear, aged 40, who landed in New York, NY in 1804 1

Canada Hear migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

  • Luke Hear, (Hare), found in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland in 1813.
Hear Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Mary Hear, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1829


  1. 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)


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