2000
#374
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 76,608
First available Census row
Per 100,000 28.40
Uncommon Last name
Hardy
An English surname referring to a bold, brave, or daring person, derived from the Old French word "hardi."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 89,355 Americans carry the last name Hardy. That puts it at #409 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.07 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,836 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hardy 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 Hardy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
89K
1 in 3,836
Census rank
#409
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
78K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 77,922 bearers of the surname Hardy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.07 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 409th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hardy
The surname Hardy is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "hardi" meaning "bold" or "brave." It first appeared in Normandy, France, during the Middle Ages.
The name likely originated as a nickname given to someone who displayed traits of courage and bravery. It may also have been used to describe someone with a robust or hardy physical constitution.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hardy surname dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest. The name is listed as "Hardingus" in this historical document.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Hardy de Caux was a Norman nobleman and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade alongside Richard the Lionheart. He is mentioned in several chronicles from that era.
During the 13th century, the surname appeared in various spellings such as "Hardi," "Hardie," and "Hardye" in different regions of England and France.
Sir Thomas Hardy (1369-1439) was a prominent English soldier and politician who served as the Captain of Guînes Castle in Calais during the Hundred Years' War. He was also a Member of Parliament for Cambridgeshire.
In the 16th century, Thomas Hardy (1533-1599) was an English scholar and biographer who wrote a famous biography of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Another notable figure was René Hardy (1572-1632), a French poet and dramatist who was part of the literary circle known as the Pléiade. He is best known for his pastoral poetry and plays.
In the 18th century, Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839) was a British naval officer who served as the captain of HMS Victory during the Battle of Trafalgar. He was also a close friend and confidant of Admiral Lord Nelson.
The Hardy surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Hardy's Gate in Cheshire, England, and Hardyston Township in New Jersey, United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hardy
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hardy 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 Hardy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.6% · 46,430
- Black or African American31.1% · 24,250
- Two or more races4.4% · 3,446
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 2,456
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 861
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 479
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hardy
Hardy 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
#399
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 80,252
+3,644 bearers (+4.8%)
Per 100,000 27.21
Rank movement Down 25 places
2020
#409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 77,922
-2,330 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 26.07
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #374 | 76,608 | 28.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #399 | 80,252 | 27.21 | +3,644 bearers (+4.8%) | Down 25 places |
| 2020 | #409 | 77,922 | 26.07 | -2,330 bearers (-2.9%) | Down 10 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 Hardy 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 | #399 | #409 | -2.5% |
| Count | 80,252 | 77,922 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 27.21 | 26.07 | -4.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hardy bearers went from 80,252 to 77,922 (-2.9% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #399 to #409.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hardy
FAQ
Hardy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hardy?
Name Census estimates that about 89,355 living Americans carry the surname Hardy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,836 residents.
How common is Hardy?
Hardy ranks #409 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.07 per 100,000 residents, which is about 26 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 77,922 people with the surname Hardy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (89,355), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.07 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.07 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 26 of them to have the surname Hardy.
Has Hardy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hardy went from 80,252 recorded bearers to 77,922. That is a decrease of 2,330 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #399 to #409.
What does the Census say about the background of Hardy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hardy, the largest self-reported group is White at 59.6%. The next largest groups are Black (31.1%) and Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hardy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.6% (46,430 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hardy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (59.6%), Black (31.1%), Two or More Races (4.4%). 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 Hardy (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 Hardy mean?
An English surname referring to a bold, brave, or daring person, derived from the Old French word "hardi." 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 Hardy (26.07 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 Hardy?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.