2000
#5,346
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,999
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.22
Rare Last name
Hardee
An English occupational surname referring to a hardy or brave person, or one who came from a hardy place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,748 Americans carry the last name Hardee. That puts it at #5,680 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 50,793 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hardee 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
6.7K
1 in 50,793
Census rank
#5,680
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,885 bearers of the surname Hardee in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5680th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hardee
The surname Hardee is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to have derived from the Old English words "hærde" or "hærdæ," which referred to a herd or group of cattle or other livestock. This suggests that the name may have been an occupational surname, referring to someone who worked as a herdsman or cattle farmer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hardee can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Harde" and "Hardey," indicating its evolution over time.
In the 13th century, the name Hardee was prominent in the county of Essex, particularly in the areas around Colchester and Maldon. Records from this period show individuals with the surname Hardee holding land and property in these regions.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hardee family established a presence in other parts of England, including Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. Notable individuals from this time include John Hardee (1570-1638), a prominent merchant and landowner in the city of York, and William Hardee (1623-1691), a clergyman who served as the rector of St. Mary's Church in Lincolnshire.
In the 18th century, the name Hardee was associated with several military figures. One of the most notable was Sir Henry Hardee (1735-1812), a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War and later became Governor of Gibraltar.
The 19th century saw the Hardee name spread across the Atlantic to the United States. One of the most famous individuals with this surname was William J. Hardee (1815-1873), a U.S. Army officer who served in the Mexican-American War and later joined the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, becoming a lieutenant general.
Other notable individuals with the surname Hardee include Sir Charles Hardee (1857-1934), a British diplomat and politician who served as the Governor of Mauritius, and Edith Hardee (1874-1958), an American author and poet who published several collections of works in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hardee
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hardee 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 Hardee surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 5,064
- Black or African American7.5% · 442
- Two or more races2.7% · 156
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 145
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hardee
Hardee 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
#5,531
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,283
+284 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.13
Rank movement Down 185 places
2020
#5,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,885
-398 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 1.97
Rank movement Down 149 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,346 | 5,999 | 2.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,531 | 6,283 | 2.13 | +284 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 185 places |
| 2020 | #5,680 | 5,885 | 1.97 | -398 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 149 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 Hardee 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 | #5,531 | #5,680 | -2.7% |
| Count | 6,283 | 5,885 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.13 | 1.97 | -7.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hardee bearers went from 6,283 to 5,885 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 149 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,531 to #5,680.
FAQ
Hardee surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hardee?
Name Census estimates that about 6,748 living Americans carry the surname Hardee. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 50,793 residents.
How common is Hardee?
Hardee ranks #5,680 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.97 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,885 people with the surname Hardee. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,748), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.97 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hardee.
Has Hardee become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hardee went from 6,283 recorded bearers to 5,885. That is a decrease of 398 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,531 to #5,680.
What does the Census say about the background of Hardee?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardee, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Hardee in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (5,064 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hardee appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.0%), Black (7.5%), Two or More Races (2.7%). 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 Hardee (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 Hardee mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a hardy or brave person, or one who came from a hardy place. 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 Hardee (1.97 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 are called Hardee?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Hardee is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.