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

Harris, 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 Harris surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harris in America

Harris is the 25th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harris surname appeared 624,252 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 212 people would have the surname Harris.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harris 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 Harris

The surname Harris is of Anglo-Saxon origin, derived from the Old English word "hærfæst" which means "gray-haired" or "venerable." This name was originally a nickname given to someone with gray hair or an elderly person. It first appeared in England around the 12th century.

The Harris surname is believed to have originated in the counties of Devon and Somerset in southwest England. Some of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which listed landowners and tenants in England during the reign of William the Conqueror.

In the 13th century, the Harris surname was documented in various records, including the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire and Somerset. During this period, the name was often spelled "Harrys" or "Harries." Over time, the spelling evolved to its modern form of "Harris."

One of the earliest known individuals with the Harris surname was William Harris, a member of the Parliament of England who represented the borough of Southwark in 1330. Another notable figure was John Harris (c. 1516-1578), an English Protestant minister and Bible translator who was involved in the Geneva Bible translation.

In the 16th century, the Harris surname was associated with several place names in England, such as Harrisfield and Harristown. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, indicating that the Harris family had established settlements or properties in those areas.

During the 17th century, the Harris surname gained prominence with individuals like Robert Harris (1578-1658), an English Puritan clergyman and one of the founders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Another notable figure was Thomas Harris (1619-1658), an English actor and playwright who was part of the English Renaissance theatre.

In the 18th century, James Harris (1709-1780) was a renowned English philosopher, grammarian, and philologist who wrote extensively on topics such as art, music, and language. He was a member of the famous Bluestocking Circle, a group of influential intellectuals in London.

The Harris surname continued to be prominent in various fields throughout history, with individuals like Townsend Harris (1804-1878), an American diplomat who played a crucial role in establishing diplomatic relations between the United States and Japan, and Joel Chandler Harris (1848-1908), an American writer best known for his Uncle Remus stories featuring African American folktales.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harris

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

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

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

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