Explore the Family Name Hare
The meaning of Hare
1. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hÍr or Ó hÉir ‘descendant of Ír’, a personal name, possibly meaning ‘long-lasting’, borne by a legendary ancestor of the north of Ireland. This name was always monosyllabic. 2. Irish: Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAichir ‘descendant of Aichear’, a personal name derived from the epithet aichear ‘fierce, sharp’. The personal name on which this surname is based was originally disyllabic. Although the Anglicized forms O’Hehir and Hehir still exist, particularly in Ireland, pronunciation in later northern Irish has caused Ó hAichir to fall together with another surname, based on a one-syllable personal name, as in sense 1 above. 3. English: nickname from Middle English hare, harr, here ‘hare’ (Old English hara, sometimes influenced by Old Norse heri). It may have denoted someone who could run fast or was timorous, or who bore some similarity to a hare in appearance, such as bulging eyes. 4. English: variant of Ayre with prosthetic H-. 5. English: topographic name for someone who lived on stony ground (Old English hær ‘rock, heap of stones, tumulus’). 6. English: possibly a variant of Hair. 7. French: nickname for a huntsman, from a medieval French call used to urge on the hounds, or, in the form Haré, from the past participle of the verb harer ‘to excite, stir up (hounds in pursuit of a quarry)’. 8. Altered form of German Harr.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Hare in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Hare has seen minor fluctuations between 2000 and 2010. The surname was ranked 2,114th in popularity in 2000 and slipped slightly to 2,236th in 2010, a decrease of 5.77%. Despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of individuals with the Hare surname increased by 3.59%, from 15,739 people in 2000 to 16,304 in 2010. This indicates that, while the name's popularity rank fell somewhat, the number of people bearing the surname Hare actually grew.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,114 | #2,236 | -5.77% |
| Count | 15,739 | 16,304 | 3.59% |
| Proportion per 100k | 5.83 | 5.53 | -5.15% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hare
Turning to ethnicity details based on the Decennial U.S. Census, there have been some shifts in the ethnic identities associated with the Hare surname between 2000 and 2010. The largest increase was among those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander, which surged by 92.68% although it still represents less than 1% of the total. Those identifying as Hispanic with the Hare surname also saw significant growth, increasing by 60.15%. Meanwhile, those identifying as White remained the predominant group, however showed a slight decrease of 3.19% from 86.54% in 2000 to 83.78% in 2010. Smaller increases were observed for those identifying as Black (11.75%), American Indian and Alaskan Native (17.76%) and those identifying with two or more races (22.07%).
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 86.54% | 83.78% | -3.19% |
| Black | 9.19% | 10.27% | 11.75% |
| Hispanic | 1.33% | 2.13% | 60.15% |
| Two or More Races | 1.45% | 1.77% | 22.07% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.07% | 1.26% | 17.76% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0.41% | 0.79% | 92.68% |
Hare 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 Hare is British & Irish, which comprises 51.5% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (26.3%) and Eastern European (5.0%). Additional ancestries include Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Nigerian.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 51.5% |
| French & German | 26.3% |
| Eastern European | 5.0% |
| Other | 17.1% |
Possible origins of the surname Hare
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 Hare have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 87.80% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 87.50% |
| West Yorkshire, United Kingdom | 87.50% |
| West Midlands, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 87.20% |
What Hare 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 Hare is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-CTS4296 and R-S660, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Smith, Fox, Schmidt, White, Miller, Patterson, Mueller, Thompson, Schaefer, Mitchell.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Hare surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to the nomadic Tuareg of the Sahara
Though haplogroup H1 rarely reaches high frequencies beyond western Europe, over 60% of eastern Tuareg in Libya belong to haplogroup H1. The Tuareg call themselves the Imazghan, meaning “free people.” They are an isolated, semi-nomadic people who inhabit the West-Central Sahara and are known today for a distinctive dark blue turban worn by the men, and for their long history as gatekeepers of the desert.How did women carrying H1 make it all the way from western Europe to this isolated community? They likely migrated from Spain across the Strait of Gibraltar into Morocco after the Last Ice Age, where they were assimilated into the Berbers of the Mediterranean coast. Then, about 5,000 years ago, the Sahara shifted from a period of relative habitable conditions to its dramatically arid desert environment. This shift may have caused migrations throughout the Sahara, prompting the ancient Tuaregs to meet and mingle with the Berbers, bringing H1 lineages into their population.
What do people with the surname Hare 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
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Hare" Surname 42.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Hare" Surname 27.5%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Hare" Surname 19.0%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Hare" Surname 18.8%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Hare?
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 Hare are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition