Find out how popular the last name Ear is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ear.

Ear, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ear surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ear in America

Ear is the 47706th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ear surname appeared 444 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Ear.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ear to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ear

The surname "Ear" is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated as a nickname referring to someone with prominent ears or as a locational name for someone who lived near a promontory of land resembling an ear.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire, a census-like record from 1273, where it is spelled "Eare". Another early spelling variation is "Eyr", which appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327.

The name is thought to have derived from the Old English word "ēare", meaning "ear". Some genealogists have suggested it may also be linked to the Old English word "ēar", meaning "earth" or "ploughed land", indicating the name could have been given to someone who lived near a distinctive piece of cultivated land.

In the 14th century, a William Eare is mentioned in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1344. A few decades later, a John Eyr is recorded in the Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire in 1379.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir Thomas Ear, a knight who fought in the Wars of the Roses in the 15th century. He was born in 1432 and died in 1496.

Another notable figure with the surname was William Ear, an English explorer who accompanied Sir Walter Raleigh on his expedition to the Americas in the late 16th century. He was born around 1560 and died in 1603.

In the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and parish registers. For example, a John Ear was baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1623, and a Thomas Ear was married in the same town in 1651.

One of the most famous bearers of the name was the poet and writer Samuel Ear, who lived in the 18th century. He was born in 1718 in London and is best known for his satirical works criticizing the social and political climate of the time. He died in 1795.

Another literary figure with the surname was Elizabeth Ear, a novelist who lived in the 19th century. She was born in 1820 in Bath and wrote several popular novels depicting the lives of the English gentry. She died in 1892.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ear

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ear.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ear was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ear has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ear was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ear, please contact us.

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