Farquhar is a surname of Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic fearchar, from fear ("man") and car ("beloved"). Farquharson is a further derivation of the name, meaning "son of Farquhar". The name originated as a given name, but had become established as a surname by the 14th century.
The name's pronunciation depends on the person, family, and place. In Scotland it can be /ˈfɑːrkɑːr/ (listen). In various English-speaking countries it has often been /ˈfɑːrkɑːr/, /ˈfɑːrkər/, /ˈfɑːrkwɑːr/, or /ˈfɑːrkwər/.
Notable people with the surname include:
United Kingdom and Ireland
- Farquhar MacTaggart, First Earl of Ross
- Anthony Farquhar (1940–2023), Roman Catholic Auxiliary bishop
- Farquhar baronets, British aristocrats
- Gary Farquhar (born 1971), Scottish footballer
- George Farquhar (1678–1707), Irish dramatist
- George Farquhar (priest) (died 1927), Dean of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane
- Helen Farquhar (1859–1953), British numismatist
- Horace Farquhar, 1st Earl Farquhar (1844–1923), British financier and politician
- J. N. Farquhar (1861–1929), Scottish educational missionary to Calcutta, and an Orientalist
- John Farquhar (footballer) (1924–2000), Scottish footballer
- John Farquhar (gunpowder dealer) (1751–1826), Scottish millionaire dealer in gunpowder
- Kellyanne Farquhar, Scottish actress
- Meg Farquhar (1910–1988), British professional golfer
- Peter Farquhar (1946–2015), Scottish novelist and teacher of English
- Ryan Farquhar (born 1976), competitive motorcycle racer
- Simon Farquhar (born 1972), Scottish playwright
- William Farquhar (1774–1839), Scottish major-general of the East India Company
North Americans
- Arthur Briggs Farquhar (1838–1925), American industrialist and businessman
- Danny Farquhar (born 1987), American baseball pitcher
- Douglas Farquhar (1921–2005), Scottish-American soccer player
- Francis P. Farquhar (1887–1974), president of the Sierra Club and author of Place Names of the High Sierra
- Henry Hallowell Farquhar (1884–1968), professor at Harvard Business School
- James Augustus Farquhar (1842–1930), master mariner and captain in the late 19th and early 20th century Nova Scotia, Canada
- John M. Farquhar (1832–1918), United States Representative from New York and recipient of the Medal of Honor
- John Hanson Farquhar (1818–1873), United States Representative from Indiana
- JW Farquhar (born 1937/1938), American musician and singer-songwriter
- Marilyn Farquhar (1928–2019), American cellular biologist
- Norman von Heldreich Farquhar (1840–1907), rear admiral in the United States Navy, for whom the USS Farquhar (DE-139) and USS Farquhar (DD-304) are named
- Percival Farquhar (1865–1953), American investor with extensive interests in Latin America and Russia
- Regan Farquhar (born 1978), birth name of rapper Busdriver
- Robert W. Farquhar (1932–2015), American spaceflight mission specialist
- Robin Hugh Farquhar (born 1938), Canadian academic leader
- Shawn Farquhar (born 1962), Canadian illusionist
- Stan Farquhar (1916–1992), Canadian politician, son of Thomas
- Thomas Farquhar (1875–1962), Canadian politician
- William Henry Farquhar (1813–1887), prominent citizen of Montgomery County, Maryland
Australasians
- David Farquhar (composer) (1928–2007), a New Zealand composer
- Edward Allan Farquhar (1871–1935), shipping agent then Harbors Board chairman in South Australia
- Graham Farquhar (born 1947), plant physiologist and biophysicist
- Murray Farquhar (1918–1993), magistrate, convicted and jailed in 1985 for corrupt influence
- Scott Farquhar (born 1979), Australian businessman
- Wally Farquhar (1875–1960), Australian cricketer
- Stuart Farquhar (born 1982), New Zealand athlete
See also
- Farquhar MacTaggart, medieval Scottish magnate
- Farquahr, an American folk band
- Farquharson
- Lord Farquaad, fictional character in Shrek films
- MacFarquhar
- Peyton Fahrquhar, fictional character in the short story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge"
- Robert Farquhar (disambiguation)
- Ffarquhar Branch Line, in The Railway Series books of Rev. W. Awdry
References
- Henry Harrison, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary (2013), p. 142.
- David Dobson, The Scottish Surnames of Colonial America (2003), p. 41.
- ^ Adam and Charles Black Company (1904), "Peculiarly pronounced proper names", Who's Who Year-book for 1904, London, England: Adam and Charles Black Company, retrieved 2020-09-18.
Surname listThis page lists people with the surname Farquhar. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link. Categories: