2000
#11,214
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,592
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Hartwick
Derived from a place name meaning "hart's creek" or "stag's creek" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,654 Americans carry the last name Hartwick. That puts it at #12,739 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,146 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartwick 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
2.7K
1 in 129,146
Census rank
#12,739
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,314 bearers of the surname Hartwick in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12739th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartwick
The surname Hartwick is of English origin and dates back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Old English words "heorot" meaning "hart" or "deer," and "wic" meaning "dwelling" or "village." The name likely referred to someone who lived in a village or area where deer were prevalent.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Hartwick can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Hertewica" in reference to a village in Hertfordshire, England. This suggests that the surname may have originated as a place name before becoming a hereditary family name.
During the 13th century, the surname Hartwick began appearing in various records and documents across England. One notable example is Roger de Hartwick, a landowner and nobleman who lived in Oxfordshire in the late 1200s.
As the surname spread, it underwent several variations in spelling, including Hartwicke, Hartwyke, and Hartwic. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of individual scribes who recorded the name.
In the 16th century, the name Hartwick was associated with a prominent family from Lancashire, England. John Hartwick (1536-1612) was a wealthy merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the local community.
Another noteworthy figure was Sir Thomas Hartwick (1592-1668), a member of the English gentry who served as a Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I.
During the 17th century, the name Hartwick also appeared in the colonial records of the American colonies. One of the earliest recorded instances was William Hartwick (1620-1687), who emigrated from England to Virginia in the mid-1600s and established a successful plantation.
In the 18th century, John Hartwick (1714-1796) was a prominent Lutheran pastor and philanthropist in New York State. He founded Hartwick Seminary, one of the earliest educational institutions in the region, which later became Hartwick College.
As the surname spread throughout the English-speaking world, it often became associated with place names that reflected its origins, such as Hartwick in Otsego County, New York, and Hartwick, Iowa.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartwick
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartwick 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 Hartwick surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.8% · 2,100
- Two or more races3.9% · 90
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 64
- Black or African American1.1% · 26
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartwick
Hartwick 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
#11,728
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,672
+80 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 514 places
2020
#12,739
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,314
-358 bearers (-13.4%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 1,011 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,214 | 2,592 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,728 | 2,672 | 0.91 | +80 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 514 places |
| 2020 | #12,739 | 2,314 | 0.77 | -358 bearers (-13.4%) | Down 1,011 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 Hartwick 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 | #11,728 | #12,739 | -8.6% |
| Count | 2,672 | 2,314 | -13.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.77 | -14.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartwick bearers went from 2,672 to 2,314 (-13.4% change). The surname moved down 1,011 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,728 to #12,739.
FAQ
Hartwick surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartwick?
Name Census estimates that about 2,654 living Americans carry the surname Hartwick. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,146 residents.
How common is Hartwick?
Hartwick ranks #12,739 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,314 people with the surname Hartwick. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,654), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Hartwick.
Has Hartwick become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartwick went from 2,672 recorded bearers to 2,314. That is a decrease of 358 (-13.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,728 to #12,739.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartwick?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwick, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hartwick in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.8% (2,100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartwick appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Hartwick (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 Hartwick mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "hart's creek" or "stag's creek" in Old English. 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 Hartwick (0.77 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 Hartwick?
Find out how many people have the last name Hartwick on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.