Explore the Family Name Harward

The meaning of Harward

English: from the Middle English personal name Hereward, usually representing Old English Hereweard (from here ‘army’ + weard ‘ward, guardian’) but possibly in some cases the cognate ancient Germanic Hariward, Heriward through Norman introduction. This name was borne by an 11th-century thane of Lincolnshire, leader of resistance to the advancing Normans.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Harward experienced a slight increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Harward ranked 15,433 in terms of popularity across surnames in the United States, while in 2010 it improved its ranking to 15,056. This signifies a change of approximately 2.44%. The count of people carrying this surname also rose from 1,743 in 2000 to 1,961 in 2010, marking an upward shift of about 12.51%. Proportionally, individuals named Harward per 100,000 people increased by 1.54% over the decade.

20002010Change
Rank#15,433#15,0562.44%
Count1,7431,96112.51%
Proportion per 100k0.650.661.54%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Harward

The Decennial U.S. Census data also reveals changes in the ethnic identity associated with the Harward surname from 2000 to 2010. The largest group identifying as Harward remained predominantly white, though its percentage decreased slightly from 96.33% in 2000 to 94.24% in 2010. Interestingly, there were significant increases in those identifying as two or more races (from 1.09% to 2.04%) and Hispanic (from 0.86% to 1.63%). The proportion of Blacks within the Harward name also increased, albeit from a small base, moving from 0.69% in 2000 to 1.43% in 2010. However, the percentages for Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native went down to zero in 2010, after being at 0.63% and 0.40% respectively in 2000.

20002010Change
White96.33%94.24%-2.17%
Two or More Races1.09%2.04%87.16%
Hispanic0.86%1.63%89.53%
Black0.69%1.43%107.25%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.63%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.4%0%0%