2000
#3,909
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,361
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.10
Rare Last name
Hargis
An English occupational surname referring to a pig farmer or herder of pigs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,920 Americans carry the last name Hargis. That puts it at #4,424 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,425 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hargis 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
8.9K
1 in 38,425
Census rank
#4,424
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,779 bearers of the surname Hargis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4424th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargis, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hargis
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargis, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hargis 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 Hargis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 6,781
- Two or more races4.0% · 313
- Black or African American3.9% · 304
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 276
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 39
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hargis
Hargis 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
#4,168
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,503
+142 bearers (+1.7%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Down 259 places
2020
#4,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,779
-724 bearers (-8.5%)
Per 100,000 2.60
Rank movement Down 256 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,909 | 8,361 | 3.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,168 | 8,503 | 2.88 | +142 bearers (+1.7%) | Down 259 places |
| 2020 | #4,424 | 7,779 | 2.60 | -724 bearers (-8.5%) | Down 256 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 Hargis 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 | #4,168 | #4,424 | -6.1% |
| Count | 8,503 | 7,779 | -8.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.88 | 2.60 | -9.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hargis bearers went from 8,503 to 7,779 (-8.5% change). The surname moved down 256 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,168 to #4,424.
FAQ
Hargis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hargis?
Name Census estimates that about 8,920 living Americans carry the surname Hargis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,425 residents.
How common is Hargis?
Hargis ranks #4,424 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,779 people with the surname Hargis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,920), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Hargis.
Has Hargis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hargis went from 8,503 recorded bearers to 7,779. That is a decrease of 724 (-8.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,168 to #4,424.
What does the Census say about the background of Hargis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hargis, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Black (3.9%). 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 Hargis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (6,781 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hargis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Black (3.9%). 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 Hargis (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 Hargis mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a pig farmer or herder of pigs. 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 Hargis (2.60 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 surname Hargis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.