Explore the Family Name Hards

The meaning of Hards

English (southeastern): 1. habitational name from Upper and Lower Hardres (Kent), probably from the plural of Old English harad ‘wood’. 2. post-medieval modification of Hard, with excrescent -s.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Hards in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Hards has seen a slight dip in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked 76,700th in terms of most common surnames in the US, but by 2010 it had dropped to 80,131st place, signifying a decrease of 4.47%. Despite this fall in rank, the actual number of people with the surname Hards increased slightly, from 233 in 2000 to 237 in 2010, indicating a growth rate of 1.72%. However, when considering the proportion per 100,000 people, the representation of the surname Hards declined by 11.11% over the same period.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#76,700	#80,131	-4.47%
Count	233	237	1.72%
Proportion per 100k	0.09	0.08	-11.11%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Hards

As for ethnicity, those bearing the surname Hards predominantly identify as White, according to the Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of Whites with this surname saw an increase from 88.41% in 2000 to 93.67% in 2010, marking a rise of 5.95%. People of Hispanic ethnicity represented the second largest group, though their share decreased by 24.37%, from 5.58% in 2000 to 4.22% in 2010. The surname doesn't seem to be popular among Asian/Pacific Islanders, those identifying as two or more races, or American Indian and Alaskan Natives, with no significant changes observed during the decade. The representation of Black individuals with this surname also dropped to zero by 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
White	88.41%	93.67%	5.95%
Hispanic	5.58%	4.22%	-24.37%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0%	0%
Two or More Races	0%	0%	0%
Black	2.15%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%