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

Harless, 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 Harless surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harless in America

Harless is the 5179th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harless surname appeared 6,746 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Harless.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harless 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 Harless

The surname HARLESS originated in Germany, where it first appeared in the 16th century. It is derived from the Old German word "harren," meaning "to wait or endure." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone perceived as patient or persevering.

HARLESS is believed to have emerged as a surname in the region of Bavaria, where it was initially spelled "Harles" or "Harless." Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in church records and tax rolls from towns like Nuremberg and Munich.

One notable early bearer of the HARLESS name was Johann Christoph Harless, a German theologian and philosopher born in Nuremberg in 1737. He wrote extensively on ethics and moral philosophy, and his works were widely studied in German universities during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

The HARLESS surname also has a long history in the United States, where it was brought by German immigrants in the 18th and 19th centuries. One of the earliest recorded Americans with this name was Jacob Harless, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1765 and fought in the Revolutionary War.

Another notable American HARLESS was William Harless, a politician and lawyer from Virginia who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1849 to 1853. He was born in 1809 and played a significant role in the debates over slavery and states' rights in the years leading up to the Civil War.

In the 20th century, HARLESS gained some fame through the accomplishments of Lowell Harless, a businessman and philanthropist from West Virginia. Born in 1924, he founded the energy company Massey Energy and became one of the wealthiest people in his home state.

Overall, the surname HARLESS has a rich history spanning centuries and continents, with roots in the German language and a presence in various fields, from academia and politics to business and military service.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harless

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

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

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

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