2000
#196
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132,466
First available Census row
Per 100,000 49.10
Common Last name
Hart
An English occupational surname for a hunter or someone who tended deer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 150,852 Americans carry the last name Hart. That puts it at #217 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 44.01 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hart 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 Hart with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
151K
1 in 2,272
Census rank
#217
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
44.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
132K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 131,550 bearers of the surname Hart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 44.01 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 217th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hart, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hart
The surname Hart is an English surname that originated in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old English word "heorot," which means "hart" or "stag." The name was first used as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived near a forest or displayed stag-like characteristics.
The earliest recorded instance of the Hart surname can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hert" and "Harte." During the 12th and 13th centuries, the name spread across England, with various spellings such as "Hert," "Harte," and "Hart" emerging.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Hart surname was Sir Percival Hart, a knight who fought in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another notable figure was Sir John Hart (c. 1501-1573), a English merchant and alderman of London who served as Lord Mayor of London in 1568-1569.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Hart surname was associated with several prominent families, including the Harts of Lullingstone Castle in Kent and the Harts of Stratton in Gloucestershire. One notable member of the latter family was Sir John Hart (1572-1645), a Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I.
Another famous bearer of the Hart surname was John Hart (c. 1651-1711), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence from New Jersey. In the 18th century, the Hart family also produced several notable figures, including Thomas Hart Benton (1782-1858), a renowned American painter and one of the foremost artists of the American West.
The Hart surname has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Hartfield in East Sussex, Hartley in Kent, and Hartford in Cheshire. These place names often derived from the Old English words "heorot" or "hort," meaning "stag" or "deer enclosure."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hart
Among Census respondents with the surname Hart, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Hart 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 Hart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.9% · 102,432
- Black or African American13.2% · 17,417
- Two or more races4.1% · 5,348
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 4,584
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 964
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 805
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hart
Hart 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
#207
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 137,184
+4,718 bearers (+3.6%)
Per 100,000 46.51
Rank movement Down 11 places
2020
#217
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131,550
-5,634 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 44.01
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #196 | 132,466 | 49.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #207 | 137,184 | 46.51 | +4,718 bearers (+3.6%) | Down 11 places |
| 2020 | #217 | 131,550 | 44.01 | -5,634 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 10 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 Hart 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 | #207 | #217 | -4.8% |
| Count | 137,184 | 131,550 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 46.51 | 44.01 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hart bearers went from 137,184 to 131,550 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #207 to #217.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hart
FAQ
Hart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hart?
Name Census estimates that about 150,852 living Americans carry the surname Hart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,272 residents.
How common is Hart?
Hart ranks #217 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 44.01 per 100,000 residents, which is about 44 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 131,550 people with the surname Hart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (150,852), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 44.01 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 44.01 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 44 of them to have the surname Hart.
Has Hart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hart went from 137,184 recorded bearers to 131,550. That is a decrease of 5,634 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #207 to #217.
What does the Census say about the background of Hart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hart, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.2%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.9% (102,432 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.9%), Black (13.2%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Hart (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 Hart mean?
An English occupational surname for a hunter or someone who tended deer. 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 Hart (44.01 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 Hart?
Want to know how many people are called Hart? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.