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

Harsh, 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 Harsh surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harsh in America

Harsh is the 9544th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harsh surname appeared 3,407 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Harsh.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harsh 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 Harsh

The surname Harsh is believed to have originated in Germany, derived from the Old German word "harsc," which means "rough" or "harsh." It is thought to have first emerged in the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harsh can be found in the German city of Nuremberg, where a merchant named Hans Harsh was mentioned in a document dated 1452. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by that time.

During the 16th century, the name Harsh began to spread beyond Germany, with some families migrating to other parts of Europe. In 1573, a man named Jakob Harsh was recorded as a resident of the city of Bern in Switzerland.

As the name traveled, it underwent various spellings and adaptations. In England, for example, it was sometimes written as "Harsche" or "Harshey" during the 17th and 18th centuries.

One notable figure with the surname Harsh was Johann Harsh, a German theologian and philosopher who lived from 1652 to 1714. He was known for his writings on ethics and metaphysics, and served as a professor at the University of Leipzig.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Friedrich Harsh, a German artist who lived from 1805 to 1875. He was renowned for his landscape paintings, which captured the beauty of the German countryside.

In the United States, the Harsh surname can be traced back to the late 18th century, when German immigrants began arriving in significant numbers. One of the earliest recorded instances is that of Johannes Harsh, who was born in 1772 in Pennsylvania and served in the American Revolutionary War.

Throughout the 19th century, several notable Americans bore the surname Harsh. These included Charles Harsh, a businessman and politician from Ohio who was born in 1818, and Samuel Harsh, a Civil War veteran from Pennsylvania who was born in 1840.

While the surname Harsh is not extremely common, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and multiple countries. Its origins can be traced back to the German language and the Middle Ages, and it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including merchants, scholars, artists, and soldiers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harsh

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

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

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

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