2000
#5,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,364
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.99
Rare Last name
Hargett
Derived from a place name meaning "hare gate," referring to a gate used to trap hares.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,977 Americans carry the last name Hargett. That puts it at #6,280 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,346 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hargett 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
6.0K
1 in 57,346
Census rank
#6,280
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,212 bearers of the surname Hargett in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6280th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hargett
The surname Hargett is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place called Hargate or Hargitt, which was likely a small village or hamlet in one of the northern counties of England.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from the 13th century, where a person named William de Hargatt is mentioned. These rolls were important financial records maintained by the English Exchequer, indicating that the Hargett name had already established itself by that time.
The name Hargett may also be related to the Old English words "hearg" or "herg," meaning a temple or a place of worship. This suggests that the name could have originated from a location near an ancient religious site or a place of pagan rituals.
As the centuries passed, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Hargitt, Hargat, Hargate, and Harggitt, reflecting the regional dialects and the inconsistencies in record-keeping at the time. One notable bearer of the name was John Hargitt, a 17th-century merchant and landowner from Yorkshire, who left several records and property deeds from his life.
In the 18th century, the Hargett name appeared in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Beverley, East Riding of Yorkshire, where several Hargett families were recorded as residing in the area. This indicates that the name had a strong presence in that region.
Among the notable individuals with the surname Hargett throughout history are William Hargett (1670-1732), a prominent farmer and landowner in Northumberland; Elizabeth Hargett (1745-1825), a renowned midwife in Lincolnshire; and Thomas Hargett (1802-1874), a respected minister and community leader in Cambridgeshire.
The Hargett name has also been associated with several place names in England, such as Hargate Hill in Northumberland and Hargate Lane in Yorkshire, further reinforcing the locational origins of the surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hargett
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hargett 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 Hargett surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.7% · 3,891
- Black or African American16.9% · 882
- Two or more races4.6% · 239
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 155
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 18
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hargett
Hargett 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
#5,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,876
+512 bearers (+9.5%)
Per 100,000 1.99
Rank movement Up 35 places
2020
#6,280
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,212
-664 bearers (-11.3%)
Per 100,000 1.74
Rank movement Down 408 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,907 | 5,364 | 1.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,872 | 5,876 | 1.99 | +512 bearers (+9.5%) | Up 35 places |
| 2020 | #6,280 | 5,212 | 1.74 | -664 bearers (-11.3%) | Down 408 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 Hargett 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 | #5,872 | #6,280 | -6.9% |
| Count | 5,876 | 5,212 | -11.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.99 | 1.74 | -12.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hargett bearers went from 5,876 to 5,212 (-11.3% change). The surname moved down 408 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,872 to #6,280.
FAQ
Hargett surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hargett?
Name Census estimates that about 5,977 living Americans carry the surname Hargett. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,346 residents.
How common is Hargett?
Hargett ranks #6,280 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.74 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 5,212 people with the surname Hargett. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,977), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.74 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 Hargett.
Has Hargett become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hargett went from 5,876 recorded bearers to 5,212. That is a decrease of 664 (-11.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,872 to #6,280.
What does the Census say about the background of Hargett?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargett, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.7%. The next largest groups are Black (16.9%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Hargett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.7% (3,891 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hargett appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.7%), Black (16.9%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Hargett (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 Hargett mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hare gate," referring to a gate used to trap hares. 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 Hargett (1.74 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 Hargett?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Hargett, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.