2000
#6,523
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,795
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.78
Rare Last name
Harker
An occupational surname referring to someone who works with a hark, a rack for drying or storing grain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,932 Americans carry the last name Harker. That puts it at #6,316 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 57,781 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harker 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Harker with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.9K
1 in 57,781
Census rank
#6,316
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,173 bearers of the surname Harker in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6316th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harker
The surname Harker has its origins in England, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hara" meaning hare and "covert" meaning a thicket or small wood, thus referring to someone who lived near a hare's covert or a place where hares sought shelter.
The name was initially found in various regions of England, including Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire, where it was often spelled as Harker, Harkar, or Harcart. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166, where a person named William Harker is mentioned.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror, there are references to places that may have contributed to the surname Harker, such as Harcourt in Oxfordshire and Harecort in Warwickshire.
The surname Harker has been associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was John Harker, a merchant from York who lived in the 14th century. Another prominent figure was William Harker, a English mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1579 to 1625 and contributed to the development of logarithms.
In the 17th century, a family of Harkers played a significant role in the English Civil War. Colonel Thomas Harker (1610-1667) was a Parliamentarian officer who fought for the Roundheads, while his brother, Captain John Harker (1612-1689), served in the Royalist army.
During the 18th century, John Harker (1700-1780) was a notable English clockmaker who became renowned for his longcase clocks, which were highly sought after by the aristocracy of the time.
Another notable figure was Samuel Harker (1820-1892), an English architect and surveyor who designed several notable buildings in London, including the Whitechapel Art Gallery and the St. Pancras Chambers.
The surname Harker has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Harker Moss in Lancashire, Harker Scar in Yorkshire, and Harker Village in County Durham. These place names likely originated from the Old English words "hara" and "covert," further emphasizing the connection between the surname and its geographical origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harker
Among Census respondents with the surname Harker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Harker 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 Harker surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.5% · 4,576
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 166
- Two or more races3.2% · 165
- Black or African American2.6% · 135
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harker
Harker 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
#6,230
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,485
+690 bearers (+14.4%)
Per 100,000 1.86
Rank movement Up 293 places
2020
#6,316
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,173
-312 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 1.73
Rank movement Down 86 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,523 | 4,795 | 1.78 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,230 | 5,485 | 1.86 | +690 bearers (+14.4%) | Up 293 places |
| 2020 | #6,316 | 5,173 | 1.73 | -312 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 86 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 Harker 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 | #6,230 | #6,316 | -1.4% |
| Count | 5,485 | 5,173 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.86 | 1.73 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harker bearers went from 5,485 to 5,173 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 86 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,230 to #6,316.
FAQ
Harker surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harker?
Name Census estimates that about 5,932 living Americans carry the surname Harker. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 57,781 residents.
How common is Harker?
Harker ranks #6,316 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.73 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 5,173 people with the surname Harker. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,932), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.73 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 Harker.
Has Harker become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harker went from 5,485 recorded bearers to 5,173. That is a decrease of 312 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,230 to #6,316.
What does the Census say about the background of Harker?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harker, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Harker in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.5% (4,576 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harker appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.5%), Hispanic (3.2%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Harker (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 Harker mean?
An occupational surname referring to someone who works with a hark, a rack for drying or storing grain. 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 Harker (1.73 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 Harker?
Want to know how many people have the last name Harker? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.