2000
#4,908
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,580
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.44
Rare Last name
Harless
Derived from a nickname meaning "merciless" or "ruthless", likely referring to a fierce or formidable individual.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,974 Americans carry the last name Harless. That puts it at #5,521 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 49,147 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harless 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
7.0K
1 in 49,147
Census rank
#5,521
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,082 bearers of the surname Harless in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5521st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harless, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harless
Among Census respondents with the surname Harless, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Harless 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 Harless surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 5,543
- Two or more races3.6% · 221
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 152
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 81
- Black or African American0.8% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harless
Harless 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
#5,179
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,746
+166 bearers (+2.5%)
Per 100,000 2.29
Rank movement Down 271 places
2020
#5,521
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,082
-664 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 2.03
Rank movement Down 342 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,908 | 6,580 | 2.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,179 | 6,746 | 2.29 | +166 bearers (+2.5%) | Down 271 places |
| 2020 | #5,521 | 6,082 | 2.03 | -664 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 342 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 Harless 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 | #5,179 | #5,521 | -6.6% |
| Count | 6,746 | 6,082 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.29 | 2.03 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harless bearers went from 6,746 to 6,082 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 342 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,179 to #5,521.
FAQ
Harless surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harless?
Name Census estimates that about 6,974 living Americans carry the surname Harless. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 49,147 residents.
How common is Harless?
Harless ranks #5,521 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.03 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 6,082 people with the surname Harless. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,974), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.03 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 Harless.
Has Harless become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harless went from 6,746 recorded bearers to 6,082. That is a decrease of 664 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,179 to #5,521.
What does the Census say about the background of Harless?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harless, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Harless in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (5,543 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harless appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.1%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Harless (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 Harless mean?
Derived from a nickname meaning "merciless" or "ruthless", likely referring to a fierce or formidable individual. 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 Harless (2.03 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 Harless?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.