2000
#8,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,564
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.32
Rare Last name
Harty
An English occupational surname for someone who herded deer or an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hAthairne.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,243 Americans carry the last name Harty. That puts it at #8,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 80,781 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harty 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Harty with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 80,781
Census rank
#8,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,700 bearers of the surname Harty in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harty, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harty
Among Census respondents with the surname Harty, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Harty 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 Harty surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 3,283
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 141
- Black or African American3.5% · 131
- Two or more races3.0% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harty
Harty 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
#8,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,842
+278 bearers (+7.8%)
Per 100,000 1.30
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#8,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,700
-142 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,511 | 3,564 | 1.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,576 | 3,842 | 1.30 | +278 bearers (+7.8%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #8,540 | 3,700 | 1.24 | -142 bearers (-3.7%) | Up 36 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 Harty 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 | #8,576 | #8,540 | 0.4% |
| Count | 3,842 | 3,700 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.30 | 1.24 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harty bearers went from 3,842 to 3,700 (-3.7% change). The surname moved up 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,576 to #8,540.
FAQ
Harty surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harty?
Name Census estimates that about 4,243 living Americans carry the surname Harty. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 80,781 residents.
How common is Harty?
Harty ranks #8,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.24 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 3,700 people with the surname Harty. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,243), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.24 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 Harty.
Has Harty become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harty went from 3,842 recorded bearers to 3,700. That is a decrease of 142 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,576 to #8,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Harty?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harty, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.8%) and Black (3.5%). 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 Harty in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (3,283 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harty appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (3.8%), Black (3.5%). 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 Harty (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 Harty mean?
An English occupational surname for someone who herded deer or an anglicized form of the Irish surname Ó hAthairne. 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 Harty (1.24 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 Americans have the surname Harty?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.