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

Harvey, 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 Harvey surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harvey in America

Harvey is the 266th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harvey surname appeared 115,662 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 39 people would have the surname Harvey.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harvey 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 Harvey

The surname Harvey is of English origin, derived from an Old French personal name Hervé or Hervieu, which in turn comes from the Germanic name Heriwig, meaning "army battle." The name is thought to have been introduced to England by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of 1066.

The earliest known record of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hervi and Hervei. In the 12th century, it was recorded as Hervey and Harvei.

During the Middle Ages, the name was prevalent in various parts of England, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Hervey, a 12th-century landowner in Suffolk.

In the 14th century, the name was associated with the village of Ickworth in Suffolk, which was known as Hervey's Manor or Harvey's Manor. This connection to a place name likely contributed to the establishment of Harvey as a distinct surname.

Notable individuals with the surname Harvey throughout history include:

1. Gabriel Harvey (c. 1550-1631), an English poet and scholar who was a contemporary of Edmund Spenser.
2. William Harvey (1578-1657), an English physician who made seminal discoveries about the circulation of blood in the human body.
3. Sir Thomas Harvey (1630-1701), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament.
4. Francis Harvey (1634-1680), an English soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Virginia from 1630 to 1642.
5. Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012), an English composer known for his avant-garde works and contributions to electronic music.

While the surname Harvey has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through British colonial expansions and emigration movements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harvey

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

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 Harvey 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 Harvey 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 Harvey was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!