Harte - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Ó hAirt
Meaning: “bear, hero”
Traditional stronghold: Meath, Sligo
Pronunciation: HART; Irish Ó hAirt: oh HART
History of the Harte name
Harte is Ó hAirt, from the ancient personal name Art, meaning 'bear' or 'champion'. The sept belonged to the southern Uí Néill and originally held lands in Meath, in the country around Tara, but the Anglo-Norman occupation of the midlands drove them westwards, and by the later Middle Ages they were settled in County Sligo, which has been the family's heartland ever since. The English-looking spelling led some families to drop the O prefix early, and Hart and Harte are used interchangeably. The name is now found chiefly in Sligo, Leitrim and across Ulster.
Variants: Hart · O'Hart · Hartt
Famous bearers of the name
- Mickey Harte - Tyrone manager who led the county to three All-Ireland football titles.
- Frank Harte - Dublin traditional singer and collector who preserved hundreds of street ballads.
- Paddy Harte - Donegal TD honoured for his work commemorating Irish soldiers of the World Wars.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Kelly · McGowan · Boland · Higgins · Feeney · Plunkett · Cusack · Dillon