Hardwick
A masculine name signifying a hard or resolute outlook.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Hardwick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hardwick today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hardwick births was 1920 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hardwick. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Hardwick is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hardwicks were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hardwick. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1920
6 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1954 SSA rank
#4,049
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Hardwick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hardwick from the 1920s through to the 1950s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 11 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Hardwick remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hardwick by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hardwick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hardwicks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hardwick
Hardwick is an English given name derived from the Old English words "hearding" meaning hard or brave, and "wic" meaning a dwelling or farm. It originated in the medieval period as a descriptive name given to someone who lived in a sturdy or fortified homestead.
The name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, and was likely first used as a surname to identify families or individuals from a particular locality called Hardwick. Over time, it transitioned into use as a given name, particularly among the English gentry and nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hardwick can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which documented landowners and properties in England after the Norman Conquest. The name is mentioned in reference to several villages and manors bearing the name Hardwick.
In the 13th century, Hardwick appears in historical records as the name of a knight, Sir Hardwick de Hardwick, who fought in the Crusades. This early usage of the name as a given name suggests its association with bravery and strength.
During the Tudor period, the name gained further prominence with the life of Bess of Hardwick (1527-1608), a wealthy and influential noblewoman who built the magnificent Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Her name and legacy helped to cement the name's association with wealth and power.
Other notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Hardwick include:
1. Hardwick Drummond Rawnsley (1851-1920), an English clergyman, poet, and conservationist.
2. Hardwick Johnson (1874-1945), an American baseball player and manager in the early 20th century.
3. Hardwick Styles Caldwell (1733-1787), an American politician and jurist from North Carolina.
4. Hardwick Perkins (1928-1992), an American jazz saxophonist and composer.
5. Hardwick Marsh (1858-1925), an English cricketer who played for Gloucestershire and Oxford University.
While the name Hardwick has its roots in the medieval period, it has endured over the centuries and continues to be used as a given name, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its connotations of strength, resilience, and nobility have contributed to its enduring appeal.
People
Hardwick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hardwick as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hardwick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hardwick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hardwick going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Hardwick a common name?
We classify Hardwick as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 21 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hardwick most popular?
The single biggest year for Hardwick was 1920, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hardwick is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hardwick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hardwick a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hardwick in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hardwick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hardwick in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hardwick can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Hardwick?
You can see how many people share the name Hardwick on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.