O'Hara Coat of Arms, Family Crest and O'Hara Family History

O'Hara Family History

The O'Hara ancient family history was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name O'Hara include O'Hora, Hora, Hare, Hair and Haire. This famous Irish sept is descended from Eaghra, who was Chief of Leyny in County Sligo. In 1350 they formed two divisions, the Chiefs of which were called O'Hara Boy and O'Hara Reagh. O'Hara Boy was seated at Collooney and O'Hara Reagh at Ballyharry. A branch of this sept migrated to Antrim. The famous manuscript known as 'The Book of O'Hara' is still in existence and contains a full record of Chiefs of the name. In the 1800's they were extensive landlords. In Cooper's Hill and Annaghmore they possessed more than 21,000 acres and this family is still of importance in that area. The variant O'Hora is mostly found in Connacht Province, which is still the traditional home of the O'Haras.The O'Hara family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including O'Hara descendants.