Hagar

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 5 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Hagar is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• a separate surname1.2K records spelled Hagar5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India

  Also written Hāğar, Ḫaǧar, Ḥaǧar, Hāǧar

• German surname832 records spelled Hagar10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, United States, Canada, Austria

  Languages: German, English

  Also written Hägar, Haegar, Hãgãr, Hāǧar, Haǧar

• Polish surname358 records spelled Hagar3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Poland, United States

  Also written Hägär, Hägãr

47 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Hagar is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• Uncertain; possibly derived from a Semitic root meaning 'flight' or 'to flee', or related to 'ha-ger' meaning 'the stranger'.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In Christian theology, she represents the Old Covenant of the Law and earthly Jerusalem (Galatians 4). In Islam, she is a revered matriarch whose desperate search for water for Ishmael is commemorated in the Sa'y ritual (running between Safa and Marwah) during the Hajj.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• In English, The Egyptian concubine of Abraham, mother of Ishmael.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Swedish, Hagar är ett bibliskt namn, ursprungligen sannolikt från arabiskan, med betydelsen ’utvandring’. Hagar förekommer i Gamla testamentet, där hon är Abrahams tjänstekvinna och mor till Ismael. Namnet har använts mer i Finland än i Sverige. En känd namnbärare är den finlandssvenska författaren Hagar Olsson (1893–1978). I den finlandssvenska almanackan 17 maj.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In German, Hebrew name meaning 'the foreigner'

  as a name·Deutsche Namenkunde: Unsere Familiennamen nach ihrer Entstehung und Bedeutung

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 24 years between 1905–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Daniel B. Hagarb. 1820USAmerican educator and school principal (1820–1896)
• Albert Hagarb. 1827CACanadian politician (1827–1924)
• Helmut Hagarb. 1914EEEstonian ethnologist (1914-1991)
• Sammy Hagarb. 1947USAmerican rock singer
• Amit HagarCAPh.D. University of British Columbia 2004

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 122 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Hagar?

We estimate roughly 3.1 thousand people bear Hagar (counting its spellings and scripts) across 4 countries in our records.

In which country does Hagar have the most bearers?

We estimate about 3.1 thousand people bear Hagar in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled hagar.

What does the name Hagar mean?

Recorded meaning: A name of biblical origin implying 'flight', 'stranger', or 'forsaken', often associated with resilience and divine provision in the wilderness.