2000
#111,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 147
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Harback
A surname of German origin derived from the elements "haar" meaning army and "bach" meaning brook.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Harback. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harback surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Harback in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harback, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harback
The surname HARBACK is of German origin, derived from the early modern German words "Har" meaning "hair" and "Back" meaning "stream" or "brook." It is believed to have originated in the late 16th or early 17th century in the regions of Bavaria and Franconia.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HARBACK can be found in the parish records of the village of Neustadt an der Aisch, located in the district of Neustadt an der Aisch-Bad Windsheim in the Franconian region of Bavaria. These records date back to the early 1600s and mention several families with the surname HARBACK residing in the area.
In the late 17th century, the name HARBACK began to appear in various historical documents and records across parts of central and southern Germany. Notable examples include the birth and baptismal records of Johann Michael HARBACK (1678-1741), a merchant from the town of Fürth in Bavaria, and the marriage record of Anna Maria HARBACK (1692-1761) from the village of Unterschwarzach in Franconia.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the HARBACK name continued to spread across various regions of Germany, with several families migrating to other parts of Europe and even to the Americas. One prominent figure from this period was Friedrich Wilhelm HARBACK (1737-1815), a renowned lawyer and legal scholar from the city of Nuremberg.
As the HARBACK name became more widespread, variations in spelling began to emerge. Some of these variations included HARBACH, HARBBECK, and HARBECK, which were often used interchangeably in different regions and time periods.
Other notable individuals bearing the HARBACK surname throughout history include:
1. Johann Georg HARBACK (1685-1762), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony.
2. Heinrich HARBACK (1819-1891), a German-American artist and painter who settled in Philadelphia.
3. Emilie HARBACK (1845-1923), a German educator and advocate for women's rights.
4. Wilhelm HARBACK (1876-1942), a German architect and urban planner active in Berlin.
5. Hans HARBACK (1903-1987), a German-born American engineer and inventor known for his work in the aviation industry.
While the HARBACK surname has its roots in Germany, it has since spread to various parts of the world, with descendants bearing this name found in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and others.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harback
Among Census respondents with the surname Harback, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Harback bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Harback surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 9
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harback
Harback appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-40 bearers (-27.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 41,509 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+8 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,871 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #111,119 | 147 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -40 bearers (-27.2%) | Down 41,509 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.5%) | Up 6,871 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Harback surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #152,628 | #145,757 | 4.5% |
| Count | 107 | 115 | 7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harback bearers went from 107 to 115 (+7.5% change). The surname moved up 6,871 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #145,757.
FAQ
Harback surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harback?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Harback. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Harback?
Harback ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Harback. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Harback.
Has Harback become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harback went from 107 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 8 (+7.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Harback?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harback, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Harback in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harback appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (7.8%), Two or More Races (3.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Harback (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Harback mean?
A surname of German origin derived from the elements "haar" meaning army and "bach" meaning brook. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Harback (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people share the surname Harback?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.