2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Hartsog
An English surname derived from the Middle English words "hart" meaning stag and "hog" meaning young male sheep.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 127 Americans carry the last name Hartsog. That puts it at #148,665 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,698,853 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartsog 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
127
1 in 2,698,853
Census rank
#148,665
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
111
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111 bearers of the surname Hartsog in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 148665th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartsog, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartsog
The surname Hartsog is believed to have originated in Germany in the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old German words "hart" meaning "hard" or "brave" and "sog" meaning "saline stream" or "saltwater inlet." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a saline stream or inlet and had a reputation for being hardy or brave.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hartsog can be found in a German monastery's records from the year 1287, where a man named Johannes Hartsog is listed as a benefactor. Another early reference comes from a 14th-century manuscript detailing the history of a Bavarian town, which mentions a local landowner named Heinrich Hartsog.
During the Middle Ages, the name Hartsog appeared to be concentrated in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony, with some variations in spelling such as Hartsogh, Hartsoge, and Hartsoege. It is also possible that the name was influenced by the Old German word "hart" meaning "forest," which could indicate that some early bearers of the name lived in or near forested areas.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the surname Hartsog was Johannes Hartsog (1505-1578), a Lutheran theologian and reformer who was a contemporary of Martin Luther. He played a significant role in the spread of Protestantism in Germany and published several influential works on theology.
Another prominent individual with the Hartsog name was Hans Hartsog (1644-1712), a German cartographer and explorer who is credited with creating some of the earliest detailed maps of the interior regions of what is now modern-day Germany.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, the name Hartsog began to spread beyond Germany as individuals emigrated to other parts of Europe and North America. One such individual was Wilhelm Hartsog (1782-1848), a German-born farmer who settled in Pennsylvania, USA, in the early 19th century and established a successful agricultural business.
In the late 19th century, a notable figure with the Hartsog surname was Charlotte Hartsog (1853-1932), a German-American philanthropist and women's rights advocate who founded several charitable organizations and campaigned for women's suffrage in the United States.
While the name Hartsog is not as common as some other surnames, it has a rich history dating back to medieval Germany and has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds, including theologians, cartographers, farmers, and activists.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartsog
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartsog, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartsog 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 Hartsog surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 106
- Two or more races3.6% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartsog
Hartsog appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#148,665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
+5 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,104 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #148,665 | 111 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.7%) | Up 5,104 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 Hartsog 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 | #153,769 | #148,665 | 3.3% |
| Count | 106 | 111 | 4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -7.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartsog bearers went from 106 to 111 (+4.7% change). The surname moved up 5,104 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #148,665.
FAQ
Hartsog surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartsog?
Name Census estimates that about 127 living Americans carry the surname Hartsog. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,698,853 residents.
How common is Hartsog?
Hartsog ranks #148,665 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 111 people with the surname Hartsog. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (127), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Hartsog.
Has Hartsog become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartsog went from 106 recorded bearers to 111. That is an increase of 5 (+4.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #148,665.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartsog?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartsog, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.6%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Hartsog in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartsog appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Two or More Races (3.6%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Hartsog (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 Hartsog mean?
An English surname derived from the Middle English words "hart" meaning stag and "hog" meaning young male sheep. 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 Hartsog (0.04 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 Hartsog?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.