A Scottish and English surname the family name of Hunter originally came from a Latin term of ‘venator’ referring to the chase and hunt. The name is especially found in the region of Ayrshire in Scotland.

Spelling variations for Hunter are Hunters and Huntor.

The northern region of England; in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland are most Hunter families. In southern Scotland the highest percentage of families with the Hunter surname live.

In the United States the Hunter surname is scattered over most of the central and eastern region. The larger numbers of Hunter families are in Texas, California, Georgia, New York Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.

Famous: John Hunter (18th century Scottish medical doctor), Francis Hunter (tennis player), Catfish Hunter (professional baseball player), Thomas Hunter (19th century founder of Hunter College in New York), Ian Hunter ( actor from South Africa), Kim Hunter (actress), Robert Hunter (musician), Tab Hunter (actor), Marc Hunter (singer from New Zealand) and Jeffrey Hunter (actor).