2000
#12,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,169
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.80
Rare Last name
Harned
Derived from a place name meaning "eagle's nest" in Old English, or from a nickname for a stubborn person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,288 Americans carry the last name Harned. That puts it at #14,416 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,805 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harned 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
2.3K
1 in 149,805
Census rank
#14,416
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,995 bearers of the surname Harned in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14416th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harned, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harned
The surname Harned is of English origin and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "hara" meaning "hare" and "feld" meaning "field," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to a person who lived or worked near a field inhabited by hares.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire, a census-like record compiled in 1273, where it is spelled as "Harefelde." This variation in spelling was common during the Middle Ages due to the lack of standardized spelling and the influence of regional dialects.
In the 14th century, the name can be found in various historical documents, including the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1327, where it appears as "Harefelde." Additionally, the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire from 1332 record the name as "Harrfeld."
The Harned surname is also associated with several place names in England, such as Harefield in Middlesex and Harefield in Worcestershire. These locations may have contributed to the development and spread of the surname.
Notable individuals bearing the Harned surname throughout history include John Harned (1580-1655), a prominent merchant and landowner in Stratford-upon-Avon during the Elizabethan era. Another notable figure is William Harned (1640-1718), who served as a member of the Virginia House of Burgesses in the late 17th century.
In the 18th century, Samuel Harned (1720-1803) was a respected farmer and community leader in Chester County, Pennsylvania. During the American Revolutionary War, he served as a lieutenant in the local militia.
Moving into the 19th century, Joseph Harned (1810-1892) was a prominent lawyer and judge in Indiana, serving as a circuit court judge for several years. Additionally, Thomas Harned (1845-1922) was a respected author and literary biographer, best known for his work on the life of Walt Whitman.
While the Harned surname has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, it maintains its English roots and connections to fields, hares, and rural landscapes of its origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harned
Among Census respondents with the surname Harned, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Harned 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 Harned surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.1% · 1,818
- Two or more races3.9% · 77
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 70
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 15
- Black or African American0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harned
Harned 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
#13,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,213
+44 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 721 places
2020
#14,416
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,995
-218 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 734 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,961 | 2,169 | 0.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,682 | 2,213 | 0.75 | +44 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 721 places |
| 2020 | #14,416 | 1,995 | 0.67 | -218 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 734 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 Harned 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 | #13,682 | #14,416 | -5.4% |
| Count | 2,213 | 1,995 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.67 | -11.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harned bearers went from 2,213 to 1,995 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 734 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,682 to #14,416.
FAQ
Harned surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harned?
Name Census estimates that about 2,288 living Americans carry the surname Harned. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,805 residents.
How common is Harned?
Harned ranks #14,416 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,995 people with the surname Harned. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,288), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Harned.
Has Harned become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harned went from 2,213 recorded bearers to 1,995. That is a decrease of 218 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,682 to #14,416.
What does the Census say about the background of Harned?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harned, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Harned in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.1% (1,818 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harned 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 (3.9%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Harned (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 Harned mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "eagle's nest" in Old English, or from a nickname for a stubborn person. 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 Harned (0.67 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 Harned?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.