Harper

An Irish surname of Antrim and Wexford. In the 2010 US census it was carried by 124,461 people, the 245th most common surname in the country.

Harper is the anglicised form of two distinct Irish names. Some you can hear in the English name; others look and sound nothing like it, and were simply swapped for it.

de Harpúr. This family stood in Co. Wexford.

Harpúr

Where the name comes from

de Harpúr is the Norman le Harpour: the harper. An old Anglo-Norman family who settled, probably in the 13th century, in Co. Wexford, where they are still numerous. The Harpers, as distinct from the Harpurs, are later settlers.

The Giant's Causeway at twilight with wet hexagonal basalt columns stretching to the sea and long exposure blurred waves
The Giant's Causeway, Co. Antrim

The Harper counties, photographed

Antrim

The Antrim coast road runs about 25 miles between the cliffs and the sea, with nine glens coming down to it. The rock is basalt, the same flow that formed the Giant's Causeway. Scotland is 12 miles off at the narrowest point and visible on a clear day.

The iconic Dark Hedges beech tree tunnel near Armoy in County Antrim with intertwined branches forming a brooding canopyThe Dark Hedges, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Long exposure of Pan's Rock with its footbridge at dawn on the Antrim Causeway Coast, silky water and blurred clouds, Rathlin Island on the horizonPan's Rock, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunrise over Colliery Bay with Fair Head cliffs and mountains, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxColliery Bay & Fair Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Dunluce Castle on coastal cliffs with long exposure sea, Co. Antrim, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxDunluce Castle, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Black and white photograph of a rainstorm sweeping across the Skerries islands off the North Antrim coast near PortrushRainstorm, the Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over Bengore Head with waves rolling over rocks, Co. Antrim, Ireland — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxBengore Head, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim Sunset over the Skerries coast in County Antrim with warm light reflecting on wet sand and rock formationsThe Skerries, Co. Antrim Co. Antrim

Wexford

Wexford gets more sunshine than anywhere else in Ireland. Hook Head lighthouse has been working since the thirteenth century, which makes it one of the oldest in the world. The beaches on that coast, Curracloe and Rosslare among them, run for miles and are mostly empty.

Hook Lighthouse beam reflecting across calm waters at dusk, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Lighthouse at Dusk, Wexford Co. Wexford Black and white panoramic of Hook Head lighthouse and wild sea under brooding skies, Co. Wexford — fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxHook Head, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Moonrise, Tramore, Co. WexfordMoonrise, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford Long exposure of carnival Ferris wheel at night on the coast, Tramore, Co. Wexford, fine art landscape photograph by Peter CoxCarnival, Tramore, Co. Wexford Co. Wexford

All Antrim prints · All Wexford prints

Notable bearers

Stephen Harper (born 1959), writer, politician, and pianist.

Valerie Harper (1939-2019), actor and writer.

Ben Harper (born 1969), singer, musician, and composer.

Steve Harper (born 1975), association football player.

Ron Harper (born 1964), basketball player and basketball coach.

About this page

The counties on this page are where the name was thickest on the ground in Ireland a century and a half ago, not a claim about any one family. Names moved around inside the country as much as they left it. The photographs are mine, made in the counties named.

More Irish surnames: Smith · Brown · Miller · Wilson · Anderson · Thomas · Taylor · Moore · Jackson · Martin · Lee · Thompson

How common the name was

In 1890, 51 births were registered under Harper in Ireland, most of them in Antrim and Wexford.

Ulster 34
Leinster 15
Munster 2
Connacht 0
Ireland 51