2000
#10,885
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,685
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Harger
An English occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells hinges or hinge-related hardware.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,805 Americans carry the last name Harger. That puts it at #12,160 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 122,194 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harger 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
2.8K
1 in 122,194
Census rank
#12,160
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,446 bearers of the surname Harger in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12160th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harger
The surname HARGER originates from England and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is believed to be a locational surname derived from the old English word "herg," which means a heron, referring to someone who lived near a place where herons nested or were prevalent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name HARGER can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where a Radulfus Herger is mentioned. The surname is also found in various medieval records and documents, such as the Feet of Fines for Norfolk in 1285, where a Robert Hergere is listed.
The surname HARGER may have also been influenced by the Old French word "heronner," which means "to hawk" or "to hunt herons." This connection suggests that the name could have been associated with those who practiced falconry or hunted herons for sport or sustenance.
In the 16th century, the HARGER surname appears in various church records and parish registers, including in Warwickshire, where a John Harger was christened in 1558. Another notable bearer of the name was Thomas Harger, born in 1620 in Bedfordshire, who later emigrated to America and settled in Virginia.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the HARGER surname spread across England, with notable individuals including William Harger (1635-1702), a prominent merchant and landowner in Staffordshire, and John Harger (1705-1778), a renowned clockmaker from London.
Other historical figures bearing the HARGER surname include:
1. Thomas Harger (1796-1876), an English architect and surveyor known for his work on various churches and public buildings in Gloucestershire.
2. Henry Harger (1825-1899), a British civil engineer and inventor, known for his contributions to the development of early steam engine designs.
3. Charles Harger (1853-1916), an American botanist and naturalist, notable for his research on the flora of Pennsylvania and his contributions to the study of mosses and liverworts.
4. Wilbur Olin Harger (1849-1919), an American lawyer and politician, who served as the 51st Governor of Kansas from 1915 to 1917.
5. Gwendoline Courtney Harger (1892-1965), a British painter and illustrator, known for her portraits and landscape paintings, and her work illustrating various books and magazines.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harger
Among Census respondents with the surname Harger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Harger 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 Harger surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.8% · 2,197
- Two or more races4.2% · 103
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 70
- Black or African American2.0% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harger
Harger 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
#11,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,740
+55 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Down 599 places
2020
#12,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,446
-294 bearers (-10.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 676 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,885 | 2,685 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,484 | 2,740 | 0.93 | +55 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 599 places |
| 2020 | #12,160 | 2,446 | 0.82 | -294 bearers (-10.7%) | Down 676 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 Harger 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 | #11,484 | #12,160 | -5.9% |
| Count | 2,740 | 2,446 | -10.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.93 | 0.82 | -12.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harger bearers went from 2,740 to 2,446 (-10.7% change). The surname moved down 676 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,484 to #12,160.
FAQ
Harger surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harger?
Name Census estimates that about 2,805 living Americans carry the surname Harger. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 122,194 residents.
How common is Harger?
Harger ranks #12,160 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,446 people with the surname Harger. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,805), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Harger.
Has Harger become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harger went from 2,740 recorded bearers to 2,446. That is a decrease of 294 (-10.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,484 to #12,160.
What does the Census say about the background of Harger?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harger, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.2%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Harger in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.8% (2,197 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harger appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.8%), Two or More Races (4.2%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Harger (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 Harger mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a person who makes or sells hinges or hinge-related hardware. 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 Harger (0.82 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 have the last name Harger?
You can see how common the surname Harger is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.