2000
#2,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,468
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.99
Uncommon Last name
Harms
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a soldier or mercenary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,055 Americans carry the last name Harms. That puts it at #2,680 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,767 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harms 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 Harms with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
15K
1 in 22,767
Census rank
#2,680
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,129 bearers of the surname Harms in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2680th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harms, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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The earliest recorded instances of the Harms surname can be found in various German historical documents from the 13th century onwards.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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harms
Among Census respondents with the surname Harms, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Harms 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 Harms surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.4% · 12,000
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 409
- Two or more races2.8% · 367
- Black or African American1.6% · 211
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 101
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harms
Harms 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
#2,518
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,377
+909 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 4.87
Rank movement Down 59 places
2020
#2,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,129
-1,248 bearers (-8.7%)
Per 100,000 4.39
Rank movement Down 162 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,459 | 13,468 | 4.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,518 | 14,377 | 4.87 | +909 bearers (+6.7%) | Down 59 places |
| 2020 | #2,680 | 13,129 | 4.39 | -1,248 bearers (-8.7%) | Down 162 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 Harms 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 | #2,518 | #2,680 | -6.4% |
| Count | 14,377 | 13,129 | -8.7% |
| Per 100K | 4.87 | 4.39 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harms bearers went from 14,377 to 13,129 (-8.7% change). The surname moved down 162 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,518 to #2,680.
FAQ
Harms surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harms?
Name Census estimates that about 15,055 living Americans carry the surname Harms. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,767 residents.
How common is Harms?
Harms ranks #2,680 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 13,129 people with the surname Harms. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,055), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Harms.
Has Harms become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harms went from 14,377 recorded bearers to 13,129. That is a decrease of 1,248 (-8.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,518 to #2,680.
What does the Census say about the background of Harms?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harms, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.1%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Harms in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.4% (12,000 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harms appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.4%), Hispanic (3.1%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Harms (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 Harms mean?
An English occupational surname referring to someone who worked as a soldier or mercenary. 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 Harms (4.39 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 Harms?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Harms at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.