Harris (surname)

This article is about the surname. For a list of people with this surname, see List of people with surname Harris.

Harris

Pronunciation	/ˈhærɪs/
Origin
Region of origin	England Wales
Other names
Variant form	Harries
Related names	Parry, Perry, Harrison

Harris is an English and Welsh patronymic surname derived from the personal name Harry (a vernacular form of Henry ) and the genitive ending -s. The given name Henry itself was introduced to England as Henri by the Normans following the Conquest of 1066, and subsequently became widespread, giving rise to surnames such as Harris and "Harrison". ^[1] It is also found in Ireland, largely as a result of the Plantation of Ulster, though it may in some cases represent an anglicized form of the Gaelic name Ó hEarchadha. ^[2]

Other surnames with the same meaning include Harries, Parry and Perry (derived from the Welsh ap Harri), and Harrison.

Distribution

United Kingdom

Harris is most common in South Wales and was the 22nd most common name throughout Wales in 2020. ^[3] For the latest available census data from 2010, the British government did not generate a list of surname frequencies. ^[4]

United States

For the latest available census data from 2010, Harris ranked as the 25th most common surname in the US with 624,252 entries. Harrison ranked as the 141st most common surname in the US with 181,091 entries. ^[5]

References

1. Hanks, Patrick; Coates, Richard; McClure, Peter, eds. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. p. 1155. ISBN   978-0-19-967776-4. English and Welsh: patronymic from the Middle English personal name Harry, a pet form of Henry, introduced to England by the Normans after 1066.
2. Hanks, Patrick; Lenarčič, Simon; McClure, Peter, eds. (2022). "Harris". Dictionary of American Family Names (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780190245122.
3. Cooper, John (21 March 2020). "The 50 most common Welsh surnames and how many of you have them" . Retrieved 20 August 2024.
4. "Surname usage frequency". Office of National Statistics. 2019.
5. "Frequently Occurring Surnames from the 2010 Census". U.S. Census Bureau. 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2021. (refer to the provided documents)