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Irish surname

O'Hare: Irish Surname History & Coat of Arms

Ó hÍr (also Ó hÉir); Ó hAichir (also Ó hOichir); Mag Fhearadhaigh / Ó Giorraidhe — three different Woulfe headwords behind one anglicised spelling · 'descendant of Ír' (Ó hÍr); 'descendant of Aichear', sharp/bitter/angry (Ó hAichir); 'son of Fearadhach', manly (Mag Fhearadhaigh) — which Woulfe says is 'erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare, as if from girrfhiadh, a hare'

Woulfe (1923) gives O'Hare and Hare as anglicised forms of three different Irish names. Ó hÍr (also written Ó hÉir) is 'the name of an Oriel family, akin to that of Ó hAnluain (which see), who were chiefs of Oirtheara, now the baronies of Orier in the east of Co. Armagh'; Woulfe adds that it is 'to be distinguished from Ó hOichir (which see) of Thomond, which is similarly anglicised.' Ó hAichir (also Ó hOichir) is the name of a Thomond family who 'at the end of the 11th century, were lords of Magh Adhair, between Ennis and Tulla, but afterwards settled in Ui Cormaic'; the name 'is still common in Clare and Limerick.' Mag Fhearadhaigh, 'a not uncommon surname, especially in East Connacht, Tyrone and Antrim', is 'sometimes corrupted to Ó Giorraidhe, and erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare, as if from girrfhiadh, a hare.'

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Coat of arms associated with the O'Hare surname
Irish formÓ hÍr (also Ó hÉir); Ó hAichir (also Ó hOichir); Mag Fhearadhaigh / Ó Giorraidhe — three different Woulfe headwords behind one anglicised spelling
Meaning'descendant of Ír' (Ó hÍr); 'descendant of Aichear', sharp/bitter/angry (Ó hAichir); 'son of Fearadhach', manly (Mag Fhearadhaigh) — which Woulfe says is 'erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare, as if from girrfhiadh, a hare'
CountiesArmagh, Clare, Limerick, Antrim
Other spellings3
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O'Hare crest gifts

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Origin of the O'Hare name

Woulfe gives three headwords: Ó hÍr, 'the name of an Oriel family, akin to that of Ó hAnluain... who were chiefs of Oirtheara, now the baronies of Orier in the east of Co. Armagh'; Ó hAichir of Thomond, 'lords of Magh Adhair... but afterwards settled in Ui Cormaic', and 'not of Dalcassian origin, but a branch of the Ui Fidhgheinte'; and Mag Fhearadhaigh, 'erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare, as if from girrfhiadh, a hare.'[5][4][3][6][1][2]

  1. 1094Four Masters: Amhlaeibh Ua hAichir among the chieftains slain at the battle of Fidhnacha.[9]
  2. 1099Four Masters: 'Donnchadh Ua hAichir, lord of Magh-Adhair, died.'[9]
  3. 1890Matheson: Hare 22 entries including spelling varieties (11 spelled Hare, 10 Haire); principally found in Antrim.[7]
  4. 1890Matheson: O'Hare 59 entries including spelling varieties (57 spelled O'Hare); principally found 31 in Armagh, 11 in Louth, 9 in Down.[8]

Where in Ireland

Co. ArmaghÓ hÍr, an Oriel family 'akin to that of Ó hAnluain', whose Oirtheara is 'now the baronies of Orier in the east of Co. Armagh'; 31 O'Hare births here in 1890.[5][8]
Co. ClareÓ hAichir: Thomond family, 'lords of Magh Adhair... but afterwards settled in Ui Cormaic'; name 'still common in Clare and Limerick.'[3]
Co. LimerickWoulfe: the Ó hAichir family was 'a branch of the Ui Fidhgheinte, in the present Co. Limerick'; name 'still common' here.[3]
Co. AntrimMag Fhearadhaigh group 'especially' found here; principal county for Hare/Haire births in 1890.[1][7]

Other spellings

Haire · O'Haire · Hair[5][2]

The O'Hare coat of arms

The design shown is a coat of arms associated with the O'Hare surname. In Irish and British heraldry a coat of arms is granted to one person and passes to their heirs; it does not belong to everyone who shares the surname. Many families still use the arms of their name as a symbol of their heritage.

O'Hare surname: questions

What does the surname O'Hare mean?

It depends which family. Woulfe gives 'descendant of Ír' for the Oriel family (Ó hÍr), 'descendant of Aichear' (sharp, bitter, angry) for the Thomond family (Ó hAichir), and, for a third, unrelated group, a mistranslation of Mag Fhearadhaigh, 'son of Fearadhach' (manly).[5][3][1]

Is O'Hare one family or several?

Woulfe gives three different Irish names behind the one spelling: Ó hÍr, 'the name of an Oriel family, akin to that of Ó hAnluain'; Ó hAichir of Thomond, which he says was 'not of Dalcassian origin, but a branch of the Ui Fidhgheinte'; and Mag Fhearadhaigh, 'erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare.' He says Ó hÍr is 'to be distinguished from' the Thomond name, 'which is similarly anglicised.'[5][3][1]

Does O'Hare really come from the word for a hare, the animal?

Only by a mistake, according to Woulfe. He calls the Mag Fhearadhaigh / Ó Giorraidhe form 'erroneously translated O'Hare and Hare, as if from girrfhiadh, a hare.'[1][2]

Where in Ireland is the O'Hare name found today?

Matheson's 1890 births index gives O'Hare as principally found '31 in Armagh, 11 in Louth, and 9 in Down', and Hare/Haire as principally found in Antrim.[8][7]

Sources

  1. Mag Fhearadhaigh — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/mag/mag-fhearadhaigh.php
  2. Ó Giorraidhe — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/og/o-giorraidhe.php
  3. Ó hAichir — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-haichir.php
  4. Ó hÉir — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-heir.php
  5. Ó hÍr — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-hir.php
  6. Ó hOichir — Irish Names and Surnames (Rev. Patrick Woulfe, 1923), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/names/oh/o-hoichir.php
  7. Hare — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/hare.php
  8. O'Hare — Birth Indexes of 1890 — Special Report on Surnames in Ireland (Robert E. Matheson, 1909), transcribed, LibraryIreland.com. libraryireland.com/matheson/report/births/ohare.php
  9. Annals of the Four Masters (trans. John O'Donovan) — CELT edition, CELT, University College Cork. celt.ucc.ie/published/T100005B/text020.html

Note: Matheson's 1890 figures for a surname include its spelling varieties (Matheson, Table Explanation).