Find out how popular the last name Hargis is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Hargis.

Hargis, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Hargis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Hargis in America

Hargis is the 4168th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Hargis surname appeared 8,503 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Hargis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Hargis to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Hargis

The surname Hargis has its origins in England, with records dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place called Hargis or Harges. The name is thought to have evolved from the Old English words "hara" meaning "hare" and "gris" meaning "gray", suggesting a connection to a place inhabited by gray hares.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hargis name is found in the Pipe Rolls of Berkshire from 1230, which mention a Walter de Hargis. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1327, where a John Hargis is listed.

During the medieval period, the name was often spelled in various ways, including Harghys, Harges, and Hargeys. Some of these variations may have been influenced by the place names from which the surname originated, such as Harges in Worcestershire or Hargrave in Northamptonshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Hargis include John Hargis, a 14th-century English landowner mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1334. Another historical figure was William Hargis, a yeoman from Warwickshire who was recorded in the Muster Rolls of 1539.

In the 16th century, the name appears in the Parish Registers of St. Mary's Church in Warwick, where a Thomas Hargis was christened in 1573. A century later, in the 1670s, a Richard Hargis was listed as a freeman of the City of London.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Hargis surname in America is that of John Hargis, who was born in Virginia in 1718. He later served as a soldier in the French and Indian War.

Another notable figure was Thomas Hargis (1754-1835), an American frontiersman and explorer who was among the first settlers in Kentucky. He played a significant role in the early settlement and development of the region.

Other individuals with the surname Hargis throughout history include William Hargis (1809-1882), a successful businessman and landowner in Missouri, and James Hargis (1832-1899), a Civil War veteran from Tennessee who later became a prominent farmer and local politician.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Hargis

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Hargis.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Hargis was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Hargis has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Hargis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Hargis, please contact us.

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