Explore the Family Name Ha

The meaning of Ha

1. Chinese: Cantonese form of the surname 夏 meaning ‘summer’; see Xia. 2. Chinese: variant Romanization of the surnames 何 and 賀, see He 1 and 2. 3. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 哈; originally a surname of the Hui people, a Muslim ethnic group in China, also traced back to other minority ethnic groups in northern and northwestern China such as Mongolians. 4. Korean: written 하, in Chinese characters 河, meaning ‘river’, and 夏, meaning ‘summer’. There are two Ha clans in Korea, each designated by a different Chinese character. (i) The founding ancestor of the larger Ha clan (Chinese character 河) was Ha Kong-jin (河 拱辰), an official of the Koryŏ period who settled in the Chinju area of Kyŏngsang South province in the 11th century. (ii) The founding ancestor of the smaller Ha clan (Chinese character 夏) was Ha Hŭm (夏欽), who settled in Talsŏng County near Taegu in Kyŏngsang North province after migrating from Song China some time in the early part of the 12th century. Compare Har 2. 5. Vietnamese (Hà): from the Chinese surname 何, see He 1. 6. Vietnamese (Hạ): from the Chinese surnames 賀 (see He 2) or 夏 (see Xia). Some characteristic forenames: Vietnamese Quang, Vinh, Thanh, Cuong, Hai, Binh, Anh, Minh, Tu, Tuan, Tam, Tinh, Tuong. Korean Young, Jung, Kwang, Kyung, Sung, Chae, Han, Soo, Jeong, Jung Hoon, Moon Soo. Chinese Hung, Dung, Hong, Dong, Sang, Chi, Chung, Chang, Chong.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Ha in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Ha" has seen a significant increase from 2000 to 2010. In the year 2000, it held the 2558th rank in terms of commonality among all surnames. However, by 2010, it had jumped up to the 1987th place, marking a change of 22.32%. The count of individuals with the surname also saw an impressive rise of 39.79%, going from 12,988 in 2000 to 18,156 in 2010. Consequently, the proportion of people named Ha per 100,000 increased by 28.07%.

20002010Change
Rank#2,558#1,98722.32%
Count12,98818,15639.79%
Proportion per 100k4.816.1628.07%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Ha

With regards to ethnicity, data from the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that the majority of individuals with the surname "Ha" have Asian/Pacific Islander ethnic identity. Although there was a slight decline of -0.98% from 2000 to 2010, this group still made up the vast majority at 92.93% in 2010. Other ethnicities associated with the surname "Ha" include White (increased by 23.15%), Hispanic (increased by 28.57%), and Black (increased by 2.99%). The proportion of those identifying as two or more races saw a moderate growth of 4.10%. Meanwhile, the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native decreased by 33.33%.

20002010Change
Asian/Pacific Islander93.85%92.93%-0.98%
White2.98%3.67%23.15%
Two or More Races1.95%2.03%4.1%
Black0.67%0.69%2.99%
Hispanic0.49%0.63%28.57%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.06%0.04%-33.33%

Ha ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Ha is Vietnamese, which comprises 39.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Korean (24.3%) and Chinese (19.0%). Additional ancestries include British & Irish, Chinese Dai, French & German, Iranian, Caucasian & Mesopotamian, and Indonesian, Thai, Khmer & Myanma.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Vietnamese39.3%
Korean24.3%
Chinese19.0%
Other17.5%
Ha

Possible origins of the surname Ha

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Ha have recent ancestry locations spanning a few countries, mostly in Vietnam, and China.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam49.90%
Hanoi, Viet Nam47.80%
Thua Thien Hue, Viet Nam46.30%
Da Nang, Viet Nam35.20%
Guangdong, China34.60%

What Ha haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Ha is O-F8, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F8 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include O-M307.1 and O-F2758, which are predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Chong, Wu, Cheung, Luong, Chang, Tong, Chan, Lu, Huang, Tan.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Ha surname are: M, D4, M7b. These most commonly trace back to individuals of East Asian & Indigenous American and European ancestry.

haPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Han Chinese

Haplogroup O-Page23 has been found in several populations of the Han Chinese ethnic group. The ancestors of the Han, called the Huaxia, lived in the upriver basin of the Yellow River 5,000-6,000 years ago. As agricultural technology improved, the Huaxia spread east and south, and became the Han Chinese. Over the last 2,000 years, there have been three major migrations of the Han southward. The first of these migrations occurred during the Jin Dynasty from 317 to 420 CE, when nearly one million people moved south. A second migration occurred during the Tang Dynasty, after the An-Shi Rebellion, between 755 and 762 CE. The last migration occurred during the Southern Song Dynasty, from 1127 to 1297 CE, when nearly 5 million people migrated southward. The Pinghua, a branch of Han in which haplogroup O2a2b1a1 is particularly common, may be descendants of indigenous minority groups that adopted Han culture during one such major migration event.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the ancient people of the Indian subcontinent

While Haplogroup M is widespread throughout South and East Asia, it is more diverse on the Indian sub-continent than anywhere else in the world. The high degree of diversity of M in India is likely tied to its ancient arrival here nearly 50,000 years ago. In addition to M2, which is found throughout the subcontinent, there are dozens of haplogroups branching off of M that exist in India. These branches are often connected to specific regions, tribes, or ethnic groups. For example, haplogroup M18 is found among the Oraon peoples of eastern India and Bangladesh, while haplogroup M41 is common among the Pardhan speakers of eastern India, and haplogroup M31a can be found on the Andaman Islands, just off the southeast coast of India.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Ha have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Ha

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Ha" Surname 43.9%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Ha

Cheek Dimples

Small indentations that appear on the cheeks when a person smiles.

"Ha" Surname 48.8%

23andMe Users 37.6%

Habits

Ha

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Ha" Surname 22.9%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Ha

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Ha" Surname 8.1%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Ha?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Ha are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

ε4 variant

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by memory loss, cognitive decline, and personality changes. Late-onset Alzheimer's disease is the most common form of Alzheimer's disease, developing after age 65. Many factors, including genetics, can influence a person's chances of developing the condition. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the most common genetic variant associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease: the ε4 variant in the APOE gene. Learn more about Late-Onset Alzheimer's Disease

Vietnamese 20.4%

23andMe Users 25.5%