# Harding (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/harding/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

An English and Irish surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 39,787 |
| US rank (2010) | 871 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,760 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.8% (38,340 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɑɹdɪŋ/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | Hardinge |

## Etymology

Originally a patronymic from Hardy or from compound given names with the Germanic element *hard (“hard”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Harding in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 80% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 14% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.2% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Harding in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.

## People named Harding

- Tonya Harding, American figure skater
- Ian Harding, American actor
- Ann Harding, American actress (1902–1981)
- Sandra Harding, American philosopher of feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and epistemology
- Daniel Harding, British conductor and pilot (born 1975)
- Paul Harding, American musician and author
- Hamish Harding, British businessman, astronaut, and pilot
- Matt Harding, American traveler, video game designer and Internet celebrity
- Dave Harding, Australian soccer player
- John Harding, 1st Baron Harding of Petherton, British Army officer (1896-1989)
- Mary Esther Harding, American physician & Jungian analyst (1888–1971)
- Tanya Harding, Australian softball player

and 7 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Hartung, Harting, Hardin, Harden, Hardman, Hardeman, Hardiman, Hartin, Harton, Hardnett, Horton, Hartman.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.