Contents [hide]

Hair History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Ireland United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Hair History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Scotland
Ireland

The surname Hair was most likely originally a nickname for someone hare-like, perhaps a fast runner. It comes from the Old English word "hara," meaning "a hare" 1 or could be "a nickname for speed or timidity" or from "dweller on the stony-ground," from the Old English word hær.2

Early Origins of the Hair family

The surname Hair was first found in Surrey, where Walter le Hare was on record in 1166, and again in 1171 in the Pipe Rolls for that County. 2

Later some of the family branched to Stow-Bardolph in Norfolk where "the lands are the property of Sir Thomas Hare, Bart., whose seat, Stow Hall, is a handsome mansion finely situated. The church is chiefly in the later English style, with a square embattled tower; on the north side of the chancel is the mausoleum of the Hare family, in which are many splendid monuments." 3

John le Hare was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Norfolk in 1197 and Ralph del Hare was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Bedfordshire in 1309. 2

Other early records include: Hugh le Hare, who was listed in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 for Oxfordshire. 1

Early History of the Hair family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Hair research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1197, 1309, 1484, 1539, 1540, 1557, 1601, 1602, 1606, 1611, 1636, 1667, 1668, 1671, 1707, 1708 and 1740 are included under the topic Early Hair History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hair Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Hair family name include Hare, Hares, Hair and others.

Early Notables of the Hair family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Nicholas Hare of Bruisyard, Suffolk (c.1484-1557), Speaker of the House of Commons of England between 1539 and 1540; Hugh Hare, 1st Baron Coleraine (1606-1667), an English courtier; and Henry Hare, 2nd Baron Coleraine (1636-1708), an English politician and antiquary from Totteridge, Hertfordshire. Francis Hare (1671-1740), was Bishop of Chichester, born on 1 Nov. 1671 and was son of Richard Hare, the...
Another 68 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Hair Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hair Ranking

In the United States, the name Hair is the 4,603^rd most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 4

Migration of the Hair family to Ireland

Some of the Hair family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 38 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Hair migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Hair surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Hair Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Samuel Hair, aged 33, who landed in New Yolk in 1719 5
Christopher Hair, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1753
Christopher Hair, aged 21, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1753 5

Hair Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Hair, who landed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1816 5
James Hair, who arrived in New York in 1836 5
Frederick Hair, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1848 5
Robert Hair, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1868 5

Hair migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Hair Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Patrick P Hair, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1826

Hair migration to Australia +

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

Hair Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. William Hair, (b. 1801), aged 38, Scottish farm servant who was convicted in Corfu, Greece for 14 years for embezzlement, transported aboard the "Canton" on 20th September 1839, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1853 6
Mr. William Hair, (Hare), English brick maker who was convicted in York, Yorkshire, England for 15 years for robbery with violence, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 1st October 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 7
Thomas Hair, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Susannah" in 1849 8
Michael Hair, aged 23, who arrived in South Australia in 1857 aboard the ship "Omega"
Patrick Hair, aged 25, who arrived in South Australia in 1857 aboard the ship "Omega"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Hair 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:

Hair Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

James Hair, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840 aboard the ship Middlesex
William Hair, aged 40, a farm labourer, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
Margaret Hair, aged 28, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
Ann Hair, aged 9, who arrived in Port Nicholson aboard the ship "Slains Castle" in 1841
Mr. William Hair, (b. 1800), aged 40, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Slains Castle" arriving in Wellington, New Zealand on 25th January 1841 9
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Hair (post 1700) +

T. E. Hair, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Arkansas, 1884 10
Sarah Hair, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Hawaii, 2004 10
Mattox Hair, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Florida 4th District, 1992 10
Lacy Hair, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from North Carolina, 1964 10
John S. Hair, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Illinois, 1904 10
J. W. Hair, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Mississippi, 1916 10
George W. Hair, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from North Carolina, 1956 10
George E. Hair, American politician, Member of South Dakota State House of Representatives 47th District, 1895-98 10
C. Edwin Hair, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Illinois, 1936; Mayor of Benton, Illinois, 1942, 1953-54; Candidate for U.S. Representative from Illinois 25th District, 1952 10

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)
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.
"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)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th December 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/canton
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) SUSANNAH 1849. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1849Susannah.htm
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html