2000
#3,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,425
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.86
Uncommon Last name
Hardesty
Derived from a place name meaning "hardy or strong eastern homestead" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,453 Americans carry the last name Hardesty. That puts it at #3,485 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.34 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,927 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hardesty 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Hardesty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
11K
1 in 29,927
Census rank
#3,485
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10.0K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,988 bearers of the surname Hardesty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.34 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3485th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardesty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hardesty
The surname Hardesty originates from England and dates back to the late medieval period. It is a locational surname derived from the Old English words "herd" meaning a herd or flock, and "stede" meaning a place or homestead. Thus, the name likely referred to someone who lived at or near a place where animals were herded or grazed.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Assize Rolls of Staffordshire in 1292, which mention a Robert de Herdestede. The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 also contain a reference to a Robert de Herdestede in Oxfordshire. These early spellings suggest the name originated in the Midlands region of England.
The Hardesty name is also linked to several place names, such as Hardestye in Lancashire and Hardisty Hill in Yorkshire. These place names likely originated from the same Old English roots and may have been the specific locations from which some early bearers of the surname derived their name.
Notable individuals who bore the Hardesty surname include John Hardesty (c. 1575-1639), an English clergyman who served as the Vicar of Stanground in Huntingdonshire. Another early bearer of the name was William Hardesty (c. 1620-1677), a Quaker preacher and author who was imprisoned for his religious beliefs during the reign of Charles II.
In the 18th century, Thomas Hardesty (1726-1808) was a prominent English architect who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Westminster. His son, also named Thomas Hardesty (1757-1825), followed in his footsteps as an architect and worked on several projects in London and the surrounding areas.
Finally, one of the most well-known individuals with the Hardesty surname was Sir William Hardesty (1828-1892), a British businessman and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Gloucestershire. He was also a successful industrialist and played a significant role in the development of the coal mining industry in South Wales.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hardesty
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardesty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hardesty 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 Hardesty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.4% · 8,926
- Two or more races4.0% · 399
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 307
- Black or African American2.2% · 224
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 70
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hardesty
Hardesty 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
#3,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,817
+392 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.67
Rank movement Down 156 places
2020
#3,485
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,988
-829 bearers (-7.7%)
Per 100,000 3.34
Rank movement Down 169 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,160 | 10,425 | 3.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,316 | 10,817 | 3.67 | +392 bearers (+3.8%) | Down 156 places |
| 2020 | #3,485 | 9,988 | 3.34 | -829 bearers (-7.7%) | Down 169 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 Hardesty 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 | #3,316 | #3,485 | -5.1% |
| Count | 10,817 | 9,988 | -7.7% |
| Per 100K | 3.67 | 3.34 | -8.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hardesty bearers went from 10,817 to 9,988 (-7.7% change). The surname moved down 169 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,316 to #3,485.
FAQ
Hardesty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hardesty?
Name Census estimates that about 11,453 living Americans carry the surname Hardesty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,927 residents.
How common is Hardesty?
Hardesty ranks #3,485 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.34 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,988 people with the surname Hardesty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,453), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.34 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.34 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hardesty.
Has Hardesty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hardesty went from 10,817 recorded bearers to 9,988. That is a decrease of 829 (-7.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,316 to #3,485.
What does the Census say about the background of Hardesty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardesty, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Hardesty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (8,926 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hardesty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.4%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Hardesty (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 Hardesty mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hardy or strong eastern homestead" in Old English. 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 Hardesty (3.34 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 Americans have the surname Hardesty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.