# Hardy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/hardy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | “hardy”, “daring”, “stout”, “bold”, “son of the hard lad” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɑɹdi/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 5,831 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 5,814 / 17 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 202, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

* As an English, Scottish, and French surname, from Middle English hardy, hardi, from Old French hardi (“hardy, daring, stout, bold”). * As an Irish surname, via mac giolla deacair (“son of the hard lad”) as a calque of the above. * Also as a Scottish surname, variant of Hardie.

## What it means

Hardy is grouped under brave.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 5 | 5,134 |
| 1932 | 5 | 4,681 |
| 2022 | 7 | 12,723 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 20 | 4,723 |
| 2012 | 28 | 3,743 |
| 2013 | 20 | 4,688 |
| 2014 | 32 | 3,408 |
| 2015 | 43 | 2,784 |
| 2016 | 48 | 2,599 |
| 2017 | 32 | 3,475 |
| 2018 | 35 | 3,264 |
| 2019 | 37 | 3,161 |
| 2020 | 38 | 3,039 |
| 2021 | 52 | 2,534 |
| 2022 | 63 | 2,278 |
| 2023 | 39 | 3,139 |
| 2024 | 53 | 2,538 |
| 2025 | 54 | 2,496 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 8 | 2,390 |
| 2012 | 10 | 2,117 |
| 2013 | 17 | 1,404 |
| 2014 | 7 | 2,690 |
| 2015 | 8 | 2,483 |
| 2016 | 15 | 1,627 |
| 2017 | 17 | 1,470 |
| 2018 | 18 | 1,382 |
| 2019 | 18 | 1,369 |
| 2020 | 6 | 2,960 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,493 |
| 2022 | 6 | 3,048 |
| 2023 | 11 | 2,007 |
| 2024 | 8 | 2,671 |
| 2025 | 12 | 2,014 |

## People named Hardy

- Hardy Krüger, German actor (1928–2022)
- William Hardy McNeill, Canadian historian and writer (1917–2016)
- Hardy Krüger Jr., German actor
- Hardy Binguila, Congolese footballer
- Hardy Cross, American engineer (1885–1959)
- Cecil Beaton, British photographer, designer, socialite, writer (1904–1980)
- James H. Wilkinson, English mathematician (1919–1986)
- Nell Carter, American actress and singer (1948–2003)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.