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

Harms, 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 Harms surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harms in America

Harms is the 2518th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harms surname appeared 14,377 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Harms.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harms 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 Harms

The surname Harms originates from Germany and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Low German word "harm" or "haren," meaning an area of elevated or higher ground. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived on a hill or elevated terrain.

The earliest recorded instances of the Harms surname can be found in various German historical documents from the 13th century onwards. For example, the name appears in the Bremisches Urkundenbuch, a collection of medieval records from the city of Bremen, dated around 1280.

In the 14th century, the Harms name is mentioned in records from the Hanseatic League, a powerful medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Northern Europe. This suggests that the Harms family may have been involved in trade or commerce during this period.

One of the earliest known individuals with the Harms surname was Johann Harms, a German clergyman born in 1554 in Oldenburg. He served as a Lutheran pastor and played a significant role in the reformation movement in northern Germany.

Another notable figure was Claus Harms (1778-1855), a German theologian and pastor from Kiel. He was known for his influential writings and sermons, and played a crucial role in the revival of Lutheranism in the 19th century.

In the 18th century, the Harms surname appears in records from the Kingdom of Prussia, particularly in the regions of Pomerania and Brandenburg. This includes references to individuals such as Johann Harms (1701-1783), a Prussian military officer, and Friedrich Harms (1719-1788), a Prussian jurist and legal scholar.

The Harms name has also been associated with various place names in Germany, such as Harmshausen, a village in Lower Saxony, and Harmsdorf, a municipality in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. These place names likely derived from the same linguistic roots as the surname itself.

Other notable individuals with the Harms surname include Johann Daniel Harms (1730-1806), a German teacher and writer; Georg Ernst Harms (1808-1865), a German botanist and naturalist; and Rudolf Harms (1886-1945), a German architect and urban planner.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harms

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

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

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

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