HARE

The surname Hare is of distinctly English origin and can be found throughout the British Isles, with noticeable concentrations in England, Scotland and, to a lesser extent, Ireland.

Its earliest and most frequently cited derivation is topographical: it may have been assigned to individuals who lived near a hare, a creature that figures prominently in early English landscapes. The name could also be a nickname that highlighted a person’s swiftness or their propensity for flight, qualities traditionally associated with hares. A further possibility is that it is a metonymic occupational name for a huntmaster or gamekeeper who specialised in hare hunting.

Variants of the surname include Hair and the rarer Hares. These forms appear in Anglo-Scottish records and sometimes in Irish sources, suggesting that the name spread beyond its English cradle and was adapted to local orthographic practices.

Etymologically, the most plausible root is the Old English word hara, meaning ‘hare’. An alternative Old English term, haer, meaning ‘stony ground’, has been proposed to explain a topographical sense of the name. In certain Irish contexts the surname may derive from the Gaelic name O’ hAichir, giving rise to the modern O’Hare and signalling a lineage of individuals called Aichear, a personal name interpreted as ‘sharp’ or ‘fierce’.

Documentation of the name stretches back to the mid‑twelfth century. In the Pipe Rolls of Surrey there is a record of Walter le Hare dated 1166, situated in the reign of King Henry the First of England (1154–1189). Subsequent entries include William Hare, a burgess of Edinburgh, recorded in 1366; Johannes Hare in the Yorkshire poll tax rolls of 1379; and John Haire, tenant of the abbey of Kelso, in 1567.

Notable bearers of the name in later periods are Sir Nicholas Hare, a judge who died in 1557, and Henry, who served as Member of Parliament for Downton in Norfolk in 1539. The peerage title of Baron Coleraine was created for Hugh Hare (1606–1667) in the Irish peerage; he is recorded as having supported King Charles the First during the English Civil War of 1640–1660.

Typical given names associated with the Hare surname

Male

• Andrew
• Christopher
• David
• James
• John
• Jonathan
• Michael
• Paul
• Robert
• Stephen
• William

Female

• Christine
• Elizabeth
• Jennifer
• Joanne
• Margaret
• Mary
• Patricia
• Rebecca
• Sarah
• Susan
• Victoria

Similar and related surnames

Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.

How to communicate the surname Hare in...

Braille

⠓⠁⠗⠑

Morse

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Semaphore

Surname type: Nickname

Origin: English

Region of origin: British Isles

Country of origin: England

Religion of origin: Christian

Language of origin: English

Famous people named Hare

• Doris Hare - Actress (1905 to 2000)
• David Hare - Playwright, screenwriter and theatre and film director
• R. M. Hare - Moral philosopher (1919 to 2002)
• William Hare, 5th Earl of Listowel - Earl, politician, military intelligence officer (1906 to 1997)
• John Hare, 1st Viscount Blakenham - Politician (1911 to 1982)
• Michael Hare, 2nd Viscount Blakenham - Noble (1938 to 2018)
• Dusty Hare - Rugby union player
• Francis Hare, 6th Earl of Listowel - Irish and British peer
• Jon Hare - Computer game designer
• Robertson Hare - Actor (1891 to 1979)
• Darren Hare - Football player and manager
• Jimmy Hare - Photojournalist (1856 to 1946)
• Charles Hare - Tennis player (1915 to 1996)
• Haydon Hare - Composer (1869 to 1944)
• Katherine Hare - Theatre director
• Thomas Hare - Political reformer (1806 to 1891)
• Dorothy Christian Hare - Physician (1876 to 1967)
• Kenneth Hare - Canadian geographer and climatologist (1919 to 2002)
• James Hare - Boxer
• Sir Thomas Hare, 5th Baronet - (1930 to 1993)

Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.

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