2000
#25,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 918
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.34
Very Rare Last name
Schardt
An occupational surname referring to a fence maker or hedge-layer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 985 Americans carry the last name Schardt. That puts it at #29,333 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 347,974 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Schardt 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
985
1 in 347,974
Census rank
#29,333
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
859
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 859 bearers of the surname Schardt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 29333rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Schardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Schardt
The surname Schardt has its origins in Germany, originating during the medieval period around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the Old High German word "scart," which means "sharp" or "pointed," possibly referring to a physical characteristic or occupation of an early bearer.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Schardt name appears in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from Saxony, where a "Wilhelmus Schardt" is mentioned in a record from 1388. This suggests that the name was already established in the region by the 14th century.
The Schardt surname is also found in various forms in other historical records, such as the Kirchenbücher (church records) of various German towns and villages. For example, in the town of Halle, a "Hans Schardt" is recorded in a baptismal record from 1523.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Schardt name became more widespread across various regions of Germany, particularly in the areas of Saxony, Thuringia, and Franconia. Notable individuals bearing the Schardt name include Johann Schardt (1535-1586), a German theologian and reformer from Saxony, and Christoph Schardt (1618-1680), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg.
In the 18th century, the Schardt surname appears in connection with several place names, such as Schardtmühle (Schardt's mill) in the town of Gräfenthal, Thuringia, and Schardtberg (Schardt's hill) in the town of Münchberg, Bavaria. This suggests that some Schardt families may have derived their names from these locations or vice versa.
Another notable bearer of the Schardt name was Karl Friedrich Schardt (1803-1885), a German lithographer and painter from Saxony, known for his landscape paintings and etchings. In the late 19th century, Heinrich Schardt (1857-1934), a German geologist and paleontologist, made significant contributions to the study of Alpine geology.
As the centuries passed, the Schardt surname spread beyond Germany to other parts of Europe and eventually to other continents through emigration. However, its origins and historical significance remain deeply rooted in the medieval and early modern periods of German history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Schardt
Among Census respondents with the surname Schardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Schardt 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 Schardt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White93.8% · 806
- Two or more races2.8% · 24
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 17
- Black or African American0.7% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Schardt
Schardt 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
#26,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 920
+2 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.31
Rank movement Down 1,187 places
2020
#29,333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 859
-61 bearers (-6.6%)
Per 100,000 0.29
Rank movement Down 2,817 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,329 | 918 | 0.34 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #26,516 | 920 | 0.31 | +2 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 1,187 places |
| 2020 | #29,333 | 859 | 0.29 | -61 bearers (-6.6%) | Down 2,817 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 Schardt 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 | #26,516 | #29,333 | -10.6% |
| Count | 920 | 859 | -6.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.31 | 0.29 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Schardt bearers went from 920 to 859 (-6.6% change). The surname moved down 2,817 positions in the national ranking, going from #26,516 to #29,333.
FAQ
Schardt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Schardt?
Name Census estimates that about 985 living Americans carry the surname Schardt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 347,974 residents.
How common is Schardt?
Schardt ranks #29,333 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.29 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 859 people with the surname Schardt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (985), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.29 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.29 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Schardt.
Has Schardt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Schardt went from 920 recorded bearers to 859. That is a decrease of 61 (-6.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #26,516 to #29,333.
What does the Census say about the background of Schardt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Schardt, the largest self-reported group is White at 93.8%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Schardt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.8% (806 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Schardt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (93.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%), Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Schardt (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 Schardt mean?
An occupational surname referring to a fence maker or hedge-layer. 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 Schardt (0.29 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 Schardt?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Schardt, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.