Harkavy last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Harkavy

A surname derived from a topographic name meaning 'dweller in a ravine or small valley'.

Harkavy, 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 Harkavy surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harkavy in America

Harkavy is the 79846th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harkavy surname appeared 238 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Harkavy.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harkavy 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 79846 79394 0.57%
Count 238 223 6.51%
Proportion per 100k 0.08 0.08 0.00%

The history of the last name Harkavy

The surname Harkavy is of Jewish origin and has its roots in Eastern Europe. It is believed to have originated in the late 18th or early 19th century, when many Jewish families adopted surnames as part of the region's efforts to establish more formal identification systems.

One possible derivation of the name Harkavy is from the Yiddish word "harkov," which means "from Kharkiv." Kharkiv is a city in present-day Ukraine, formerly part of the Russian Empire. It is plausible that the name was initially associated with individuals or families who hailed from or had connections to this city.

Another interpretation suggests that Harkavy is a variation of the Hebrew name "Harkavi," which translates to "the one from Harkiv." This further reinforces the potential link between the surname and the city of Kharkiv.

Early records mentioning the Harkavy surname are scarce, as many Jewish communities in Eastern Europe faced persecution and displacement during this period. However, some historical references can be found in census records and other documents from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

One notable individual bearing the Harkavy surname was Abraham Harkavy (1835-1919), a Russian-Jewish scholar and historian who made significant contributions to the study of Hebrew and Jewish literature. He served as the director of the Asiatic Museum in St. Petersburg and published numerous works on Jewish history and culture.

Another prominent figure was Alexander Harkavy (1863-1939), a Russian-American lawyer and activist. He was actively involved in the labor movement and the fight for workers' rights in the United States, where he immigrated in the late 19th century.

In the realm of literature, we find Andrĕĭ Samuilovich Harkavy (1907-1983), a Soviet writer and journalist who penned several novels and short stories depicting life in the Soviet Union.

Moving forward in time, Louis Harkavy (1904-1990) was an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Louis and Bessie Harkavy Foundation, which supported various educational and cultural initiatives.

Finally, mention should be made of Doris Harkavy (1915-2007), an American artist and sculptor whose works were exhibited in galleries across the United States and Europe throughout the 20th century.

While the Harkavy surname may have originated from a specific geographic location, it has since been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, leaving an indelible mark on various fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harkavy

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

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 Harkavy was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 94.12% 224
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 2.94% 7

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 Harkavy has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 94.12% 98.21% -4.25%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 2.94% (S)% (S)%

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 Harkavy was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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"Harkavy last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on August 2, 2025. http://namecensus.com/last-names/harkavy-surname-popularity/.

"Harkavy last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/harkavy-surname-popularity/. Accessed 2 August, 2025

Harkavy last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/harkavy-surname-popularity/.

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