2000
#3,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,231
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.05
Rare Last name
Hair
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold hair goods, such as wigs or hairnets.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,555 Americans carry the last name Hair. That puts it at #4,614 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,065 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hair surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hair with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
8.6K
1 in 40,065
Census rank
#4,614
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,460 bearers of the surname Hair in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4614th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hair, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hair
The surname HAIR is an English surname that originated in the Middle Ages, derived from the Old English word "haer," meaning "hair" or "head of hair." It was likely originally a descriptive nickname given to someone with distinctive hair or a hairstyle.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century, with early records showing variations such as Haire, Hayre, and Heyre. One of the earliest recorded references to the name is found in the Hundredorum Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, which mentions a person named William le Heyr.
During the medieval period, the HAIR surname was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, and Somerset in England. Some early bearers of the name were likely associated with the wool trade, as distinguishing physical features were often used as identifiers for tradespeople.
In the 16th century, the HAIR surname appeared in various historical records, including the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1554, which mentioned a John Hayre. The Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1593 also listed a William Hayre.
Notable individuals with the HAIR surname throughout history include:
1. Sir John Hair (1639-1718), a Scottish merchant and landowner who served as Lord Provost of Edinburgh from 1700 to 1703.
2. James Hair (1776-1838), a Scottish minister and author who wrote several works on theology and church history.
3. Robert Hair (1811-1876), a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the New South Wales Legislative Council.
4. Thomas Hair (1789-1852), an English landscape painter known for his depictions of rural scenes and coastal views.
5. Margaret Hair (1846-1927), a Scottish suffragist and campaigner for women's rights, who was actively involved in the movement for women's suffrage in Scotland.
While the HAIR surname has connections to various places across England and Scotland, it is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname rather than being derived from a specific place name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hair
Among Census respondents with the surname Hair, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hair bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Hair surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.4% · 5,624
- Black or African American13.5% · 1,009
- Two or more races4.6% · 343
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 284
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hair
Hair appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,539
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,814
-417 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 2.65
Rank movement Down 580 places
2020
#4,614
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,460
-354 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 75 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,959 | 8,231 | 3.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,539 | 7,814 | 2.65 | -417 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 580 places |
| 2020 | #4,614 | 7,460 | 2.50 | -354 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 75 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Hair surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,539 | #4,614 | -1.7% |
| Count | 7,814 | 7,460 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.65 | 2.50 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hair bearers went from 7,814 to 7,460 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 75 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,539 to #4,614.
FAQ
Hair surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hair?
Name Census estimates that about 8,555 living Americans carry the surname Hair. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,065 residents.
How common is Hair?
Hair ranks #4,614 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,460 people with the surname Hair. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,555), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hair.
Has Hair become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hair went from 7,814 recorded bearers to 7,460. That is a decrease of 354 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,539 to #4,614.
What does the Census say about the background of Hair?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hair, the largest self-reported group is White at 75.4%. The next largest groups are Black (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Hair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.4% (5,624 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hair appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (75.4%), Black (13.5%), Two or More Races (4.6%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Hair (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Hair mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who made or sold hair goods, such as wigs or hairnets. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Hair (2.50 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Hair?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.