2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hartkorn
A German topographic surname referring to an area with fertile soil or abundant crop yields.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Hartkorn. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartkorn 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Hartkorn in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartkorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartkorn
The surname Hartkorn has its origins in Germany, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Middle High German words "hart" meaning hard or firm, and "korn" meaning grain or corn. The name likely referred to someone who grew or traded in hardy grains or cereals.
Hartkorn is considered a topographic name, referring to the landscape or a notable geographical feature near where the original bearer lived or worked. It may have been used to distinguish between different farmers or merchants in the same town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hartkorn appears in a manuscript from the town of Erfurt, in present-day Thuringia, Germany, dated to around 1280. The document mentions a "Johannes Hartkornus" who was a local landowner and grain merchant.
The Hartkorn name can be found in various historical records from across central and northern Germany throughout the medieval and early modern periods. For example, a "Hans Hartkorn" is listed as a resident of the town of Lübeck in 1412.
Notable individuals with the surname Hartkorn include Johann Hartkorn (1561-1623), a Protestant theologian and author who served as a pastor in the city of Erfurt. Another was Wilhelm Hartkorn (1701-1768), a German composer and organist who worked in the court of the Dukes of Saxe-Coburg.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, several Hartkorn families immigrated to North America, with some settling in Pennsylvania and Ontario. One such immigrant was Christian Hartkorn (1782-1865), who arrived in Philadelphia from Württemberg in 1804 and later became a successful farmer.
Other individuals of note include the German artist and illustrator Otto Hartkorn (1885-1952), and the World War II military officer Erich Hartkorn (1911-1995), who served in the Wehrmacht and later the Bundeswehr.
Throughout its long history, the surname Hartkorn has maintained its connection to agriculture and rural life, reflecting the occupations and livelihoods of its earliest bearers in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartkorn
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartkorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartkorn 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 Hartkorn surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.0% · 103
- Two or more races1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartkorn
Hartkorn 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+1 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 8,896 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-1 bearers (-1.0%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Up 1,317 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+1.0%) | Down 8,896 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -1 bearers (-1.0%) | Up 1,317 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 Hartkorn 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 | #154,907 | #153,590 | 0.9% |
| Count | 105 | 104 | -1.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartkorn bearers went from 105 to 104 (-1.0% change). The surname moved up 1,317 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #153,590.
FAQ
Hartkorn surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartkorn?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Hartkorn. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Hartkorn?
Hartkorn ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Hartkorn. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Hartkorn.
Has Hartkorn become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartkorn went from 105 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 1 (-1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartkorn?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartkorn, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Hartkorn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.0% (103 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartkorn appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.0%), Two or More Races (1.0%). 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 Hartkorn (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 Hartkorn mean?
A German topographic surname referring to an area with fertile soil or abundant crop yields. 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 Hartkorn (0.03 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 are called Hartkorn?
You can see how many people are called Hartkorn on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.