The color of ginger root, the spice, is yellow or light brown. However, when we use the word “ginger” to refer to a person, we’re talking about the color of their hair (and sometimes their skin tone and freckles). A ginger is a redhead, but the spectrum of the hair color can include hues that are reddish-brown, more orange, strawberry blond, or copper. Think of the diversity among some famous redheads, such as Julianne Moore, Rupert Grint, and Prince Harry.
Despite the highly recognizable nature of red hair, there are relatively few redheads around the world. Gingers make up about 1% to 2% of the population, and the hair color is most common in people of Northern European ancestry. Going back to genetics lessons and a Punnett square, red hair is a recessive gene. Two parents may have brown hair and end up with a ginger child because they both carry the recessive red hair gene. Ginger-haired people usually also have pale skin and freckles.
“Ginger,” as it pertains to red-haired folks, is a colloquial term that originated in British English. It first appeared in Francis Grose’s 1785 compendium, A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue (“vulgar” meaning “slang”). He documented the term “ginger-pated,” which referred to red-feathered chickens.
The term itself is not inherently rude, but it’s sometimes used offensively. In Edinburgh in 2013, a redheaded comedian named Shawn Hitchins organized a ginger pride march. His reasoning was that 19% of the world’s redheads lived in Scotland, and they deserved to have their voices heard and address anti-redhead bias in British culture. However, in Ireland there are more redheads than in most other locations, and people often use “ginger” as a source of pride as well.
Nowadays, “ginger” is more often an affectionate term or used to describe one’s own appearance. But be careful with the usage, in case someone finds it offensive.
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