Find out how popular the last name Harty is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Harty.

Harty, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Harty surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harty in America

Harty is the 8576th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harty surname appeared 3,842 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Harty.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harty to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Harty

The surname Harty originated in Ireland. It is an anglicized form of the Gaelic name O'hAirtchidh, meaning "descendent of Airtech". Airtech was a personal name derived from the Old Irish word "art", meaning bear or stone.

The name can be traced back to County Limerick, where it was first found in the baronies of Coshma and Smallcounty. The family held a seat at Harty's Cross, near the town of Rathkeale, from ancient times.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name is found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It mentions a Hugh O'Harty, who was the Chief of his Sept in 1470.

In the 16th century, the Hartys were among the most influential families in County Limerick. During the Elizabethan era, they fiercely resisted the efforts of the English to colonize their lands. In 1598, John Harty, the Chief of the Sept, was killed in a skirmish with English forces.

The name Harty is also associated with some notable figures in Irish history. In the 18th century, Walter Harty (1726-1805) was a prominent Catholic priest and scholar who wrote extensively on Irish language and history.

Another prominent Harty was William Harty (1828-1880), a barrister and judge who served as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1876 to 1880. He was born in County Limerick and was a member of the same Harty family that had held lands there for centuries.

In more recent times, the name Harty has been borne by several accomplished musicians and composers. These include Hamilton Harty (1879-1941), an Irish composer and conductor who was known for his orchestral and choral works, and Patricia Harty (born 1947), an Irish-American singer and actress who has appeared on stage and screen.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harty

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Harty.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Harty was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Harty has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Harty was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Harty, please contact us.

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