2000
#753
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,664
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.44
Uncommon Last name
Hardin
An English surname derived from a place name, referring to someone who lived in a hare's valley or den.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 46,125 Americans carry the last name Hardin. That puts it at #841 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,431 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hardin 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 Hardin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
46K
1 in 7,431
Census rank
#841
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
40K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 40,223 bearers of the surname Hardin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 841st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hardin
The surname Hardin is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "hara" and "dun," meaning "hare hill" or "hill where hares are found." This name likely originated as a topographic surname, given to someone who lived near a hill known for its abundance of hares.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Hardin can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Haradun." This historical record suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century in England.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hardin was primarily concentrated in the counties of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire in northern England. Various spellings emerged over time, including Hardin, Hardyn, Hardinge, and Harding.
One notable bearer of the Hardin surname was Sir Robert Harding (c. 1516-1574), an English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1565. Another prominent figure was John Harding (c. 1378-1465), an English chronicler and poet known for his work "Harding's Chronicle."
In the 17th century, the Hardin surname gained prominence in Scotland. Sir Robert Harding (1701-1765), a Scottish politician and judge, was appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in 1764.
As the name spread across the British Isles, it also found its way to North America during the colonial era. Benjamin Hardin (1784-1852) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Kentucky.
Another noteworthy bearer of the Hardin surname was John Hardin (1753-1792), an American military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War and the Northwest Indian War. He was killed in a skirmish with Native Americans in what is now Ohio.
Throughout its long history, the Hardin surname has been associated with various place names, such as Harden in Wiltshire, England, and Harden in Roxburghshire, Scotland, further reflecting its topographic origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hardin
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hardin 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 Hardin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.6% · 30,023
- Black or African American15.4% · 6,188
- Two or more races4.8% · 1,925
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 1,316
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 519
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 252
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hardin
Hardin 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
#817
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,469
+805 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 14.40
Rank movement Down 64 places
2020
#841
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,223
-2,246 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 13.46
Rank movement Down 24 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #753 | 41,664 | 15.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #817 | 42,469 | 14.40 | +805 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 64 places |
| 2020 | #841 | 40,223 | 13.46 | -2,246 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 24 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 Hardin 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 | #817 | #841 | -2.9% |
| Count | 42,469 | 40,223 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 14.40 | 13.46 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hardin bearers went from 42,469 to 40,223 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 24 positions in the national ranking, going from #817 to #841.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hardin
FAQ
Hardin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hardin?
Name Census estimates that about 46,125 living Americans carry the surname Hardin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,431 residents.
How common is Hardin?
Hardin ranks #841 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.46 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 40,223 people with the surname Hardin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (46,125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.46 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Hardin.
Has Hardin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hardin went from 42,469 recorded bearers to 40,223. That is a decrease of 2,246 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #817 to #841.
What does the Census say about the background of Hardin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardin, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.6%. The next largest groups are Black (15.4%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Hardin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.6% (30,023 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hardin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.6%), Black (15.4%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Hardin (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 Hardin mean?
An English surname derived from a place name, referring to someone who lived in a hare's valley or den. 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 Hardin (13.46 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 Hardin?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.