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

O'Harra, 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 O'Harra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of O'Harra in America

O'Harra is the 38801st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The O'Harra surname appeared 569 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 O'Harra.

We can also compare 2010 data for O'Harra 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 O'Harra

The surname OHARRA is believed to have originated from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It is thought to derive from the Basque words "or" meaning "meadow" and "harra" meaning "rocky ground" or "craggy area." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in or near a rocky meadow or pasture.

The earliest known records of the OHARRA surname date back to the late 15th century in the Spanish province of Biscay. One of the first documented instances is found in a 1492 municipal register from the town of Bilbao, which lists a farmer named Juan de Oharra.

In the 16th century, the surname appears in various legal documents and church records from the Basque region. For example, a court case from 1534 in the village of Bermeo mentions a landowner called Pedro de Oharra. Additionally, the baptismal records of the Church of San Vicente in Abando, near Bilbao, include an entry from 1572 for a child named Maria Oharra.

One notable figure with this surname was Martín de Oharra, a Basque sailor who served as a navigator on several Spanish expeditions to the Americas in the late 16th century. He is believed to have been born around 1550 in the town of Lekeitio, and he accompanied explorers such as Álvaro de Mendaña on voyages to the Solomon Islands and other parts of the Pacific.

In the 17th century, the OHARRA name can be found in various regions of Spain, likely due to migration from the Basque Country. For instance, there are records of an Antonia Oharra who was born in Madrid in 1623, and a Francisco Oharra who was a soldier in the Spanish Army stationed in Valencia in the 1670s.

Another notable figure was Ignacio de Oharra, a Basque merchant and shipowner who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. He was born in the town of Mutriku around 1670 and became a wealthy trader, owning several vessels that sailed between Spain and the Americas.

As the OHARRA surname spread beyond its Basque origins, variations in spelling emerged, such as Oharra, O'Harra, and O'Hara. These alternative forms can be found in records from Ireland, where the name may have been adopted by some families of Irish descent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name O'Harra

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname O'Harra.

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 O'Harra 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 O'Harra 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 O'Harra was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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