Hartwell
A name derived from the Old English words "heorot" and "well", meaning "stag well" or "deer's pool".
Name Census estimates that about 169 living Americans carry the first name Hartwell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Hartwell today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hartwell births was 1917 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hartwell. 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 Hartwell is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Hartwells were born before 1966.
People living today
169
~ 1 in 2,028,132 Americans
Peak year
1917
27 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,279
Tracked since 1881
Popularity
Hartwell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hartwell from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 146 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hartwell 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 Hartwell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Hartwells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Hartwell
The given name Hartwell originates from the Old English language, having its roots in the Anglo-Saxon era of Britain. It is a compound name, derived from the Old English words "heorot" or "hert" meaning "stag" or "deer," and "well" signifying a spring or stream. Thus, the name Hartwell can be interpreted as "the deer's spring" or "the stream frequented by deer."
This name was most prevalent in the regions of England where Anglo-Saxon influence was strong, particularly in the southern and central counties. It was commonly used as a place name, with several villages and hamlets bearing the name Hartwell, reflecting the presence of deer and water sources in those areas.
While there are no definitive records of the name appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is believed to have been in use among the Anglo-Saxon population as early as the 7th or 8th century AD. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hartwell can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a place called "Hertewelle" in Northamptonshire.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Hartwell. One of the earliest was Hartwell de Loges (c. 1140 - c. 1215), an English nobleman and landowner who served as a justice itinerant during the reign of King John. Another early bearer of the name was Hartwell de Burne (fl. 1272), an English cleric who served as the Archdeacon of Berkshire.
In the 16th century, Hartwell Feld (c. 1515 - 1585) was a prominent English clergyman and scholar who served as a canon of Windsor and chaplain to Queen Elizabeth I. During the same period, Hartwell Molyneux (c. 1525 - 1598) was an English politician and Member of Parliament for Staffordshire.
In more recent times, Hartwell Ragsdale (1856 - 1934) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a judge in the District Court of Tennessee. Hartwell Burr Alexander (1873 - 1939) was an American philosopher and educator who served as the president of the University of Missouri from 1923 to 1935.
People
Hartwell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hartwell 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
Hartwell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hartwell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 169 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hartwell 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 2,028,132 US residents.
Is Hartwell a common name?
We classify Hartwell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 645 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hartwell most popular?
The single biggest year for Hartwell was 1917, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hartwell is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Hartwell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hartwell 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.
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.