Haas
A German and Dutch surname meaning “hare,” likely first used as a nickname for someone quick, shy, or fleet-footed.
The #1,001 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,842 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Haas comes from a Germanic word for “hare”: Dutch haas and Old High German haso. It belongs to a common family of surnames built from animal nicknames, probably applied to someone thought to be swift, timid, or hare-like in some other way. In German sources it is closely related to Hase, and in Dutch it is the same word in a shorter surname form.
History
The name is well attested in German-speaking areas and in Dutch usage, and the spelling Haas is especially common in German contexts. Historical surname collections also note close variants such as Hase and Haase, showing the same nickname developing in slightly different regional spellings. It later spread through migration into other countries, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Animal surnames like Haas were a very common way for medieval people to create memorable family names.
From the historical record
“HAAS (Dut.) Hare [Dut. haas] Cp. Hase. H AH N (Ger!) Cock [O.H.Ger. Aa«oJ HASE (Ger.) Hare [O.H.Ger. haso] Cp. Haas. HEIN(E (Ger.) dim. of Heinrich, q.v.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)