Explore the Family Name Loar

The meaning of Loar

1. Americanized form of German Löhr (see Loehr) or Lohr or of some other similar (like-sounding) surname. 2. English and Scottish: unexplained. The name is recorded in both England and Scotland. It may be a variant of Scottish Lour, a habitational name from Lour, formerly a part of the parish of Meathielour.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Loar has seen a slight decrease in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was ranked as the 13,731st most popular surname, but by 2010 it had dropped to 14,233rd, marking a 3.66% decrease in rank. However, despite this drop, the count of people with the surname Loar actually increased by 4.1% during this period, from 2,024 to 2,107. The proportion per 100k people also decreased slightly, from 0.75 to 0.71, a change of -5.33%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#13,731	#14,233	-3.66%
Count	2,024	2,107	4.1%
Proportion per 100k	0.75	0.71	-5.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Loar

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the Loar surname from 2000 to 2010. There was a significant increase in individuals identifying as Two or more races (156.76%), Hispanic (183.15%), and Black (137.10%). Additionally, there was a modest increase in those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander (23.19%). Notably, there was a decrease of 4.63% in those identifying as White, and a 26.19% decrease in those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native. These changes underscore the dynamic nature of ethnic identities within the United States.

	2000	2010	Change
White	95.6%	91.17%	-4.63%
Black	1.24%	2.94%	137.1%
Hispanic	0.89%	2.52%	183.15%
Two or More Races	0.74%	1.9%	156.76%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.69%	0.85%	23.19%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.84%	0.62%	-26.19%