2000
#5,391
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,947
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.20
Rare Last name
Hartwig
A German surname derived from the elements "hart" meaning hard or strong, and "wig" meaning battle or fight.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,617 Americans carry the last name Hartwig. That puts it at #5,786 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 51,799 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartwig 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
6.6K
1 in 51,799
Census rank
#5,786
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,770 bearers of the surname Hartwig in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5786th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwig, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartwig
The surname Hartwig originated in Germany, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is a compound name derived from the Old German words "hart" meaning "hardy" or "strong" and "wig" meaning "battle" or "warrior." The name likely referred to someone who was a skilled and formidable warrior.
The Hartwig name was particularly prevalent in the regions of Saxony and Thuringia, where many early bearers of the name were documented. In the 13th century, a knight named Hartwig von Hagen was mentioned in the chronicles of the Teutonic Order, indicating the name's association with nobility and military service.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Hartwig surname appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval documents from Saxony, dated around 1250. This record mentions a landowner named Hartwig von Eberstein.
The name also appeared in various forms in historical records, such as Hartwich, Hartwic, and Hartwig. These variations were often due to regional spelling differences or scribal errors in transcription.
Notable individuals with the Hartwig surname include:
1. Hartwig von Erfurt (c. 1185-1230), a German philosopher and theologian known for his works on natural philosophy and metaphysics.
2. Hartwig von Herringen (c. 1300-1370), a German knight and crusader who participated in the Prussian Crusades against the Baltic Prussians.
3. Hartwig von Massenbach (c. 1480-1545), a German humanist scholar and educator who served as the rector of several prestigious schools in Germany.
4. Hartwig Ludolf (1670-1738), a German theologian and writer who authored several religious works and served as a pastor in Hamburg.
5. Hartwig Seyffert (1876-1954), a German philologist and classical scholar known for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek and Roman literature.
Throughout its history, the Hartwig surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Hartwig (a village in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany), Hartwigshafen (a district in Wiesbaden, Germany), and Hartwigsee (a lake in Brandenburg, Germany).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartwig
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwig, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartwig 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 Hartwig surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.5% · 5,394
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 163
- Two or more races2.6% · 151
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 20
- Black or African American0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartwig
Hartwig 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
#5,845
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,913
-34 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 2.00
Rank movement Down 454 places
2020
#5,786
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,770
-143 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 1.93
Rank movement Up 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,391 | 5,947 | 2.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,845 | 5,913 | 2.00 | -34 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 454 places |
| 2020 | #5,786 | 5,770 | 1.93 | -143 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 59 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 Hartwig 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 | #5,845 | #5,786 | 1.0% |
| Count | 5,913 | 5,770 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 2.00 | 1.93 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartwig bearers went from 5,913 to 5,770 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,845 to #5,786.
FAQ
Hartwig surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartwig?
Name Census estimates that about 6,617 living Americans carry the surname Hartwig. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 51,799 residents.
How common is Hartwig?
Hartwig ranks #5,786 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,770 people with the surname Hartwig. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,617), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Hartwig.
Has Hartwig become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartwig went from 5,913 recorded bearers to 5,770. That is a decrease of 143 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,845 to #5,786.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartwig?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartwig, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Hartwig in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (5,394 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartwig appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Hartwig (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 Hartwig mean?
A German surname derived from the elements "hart" meaning hard or strong, and "wig" meaning battle or fight. 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 Hartwig (1.93 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 Hartwig?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.