How common is the surname Harding?

39,787 people in the United States had the surname Harding in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,760 Americans. It ranked 871st of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Harding?

Tonya Harding, American figure skater, followed by Ian Harding.

Where is the surname Harding most common?

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

How do you pronounce Harding?

Harding is /ˈhɑɹdɪŋ/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Harding getting more or less common?

More common. 38,340 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 39,787 in 2010, up 3.8%.

Is Harding also a first name?

Yes. Harding is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Harding

A patronymic surname, carried by 39,787 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈhɑɹdɪŋ/ 2 syllables Soundex H635 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Harding is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

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

Harding is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 39,787 people named Harding in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,760 Americans. That is up 3.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 38,340.

#871

rank among US surnames

39,787

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.8%

change since 2000 (was #823)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#862	Bentley	40,193	7,682
#863	Felix	40,165	7,687
#864	Peck	40,055	7,708
#865	Lucero	39,986	7,721
#866	Boyle	39,921	7,734
#867	Hanna	39,890	7,740
#868	Pace	39,879	7,742

Who is named Harding

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

80% of people named Harding identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

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

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Hardings

19 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Tonya Harding
American figure skater, born 1970
Ian Harding
American actor, born 1986
Ann Harding
American actress (1902–1981)
Sandra Harding
American philosopher of feminist theory, postcolonial theory, and epistemology, 1935–2025
Daniel Harding
British conductor and pilot (born 1975)
Paul Harding
American musician and author, born 1967
Hamish Harding
British businessman, astronaut, and pilot, 1964–2023
Matt Harding
American traveler, video game designer and Internet celebrity, born 1976
Dave Harding
Australian soccer player, born 1946
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, born 1972

Notable Hardings come mostly from the United States (12), the United Kingdom (4) and Australia (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Hardinge

Surnames that sound like Harding

Harding has the Soundex code H635, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H635.

Questions

Where does the surname Harding come from?: Originally a patronymic from Hardy or from compound given names with the Germanic element *hard (“hard”).
How common is the surname Harding?: 39,787 people in the United States had the surname Harding in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,760 Americans. It ranked 871st of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Harding?: In the 2010 Census, 80% of people named Harding identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Harding?: Tonya Harding, American figure skater, followed by Ian Harding.
Where is the surname Harding most common?: Wikidata records people named Harding in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.
How do you pronounce Harding?: Harding is /ˈhɑɹdɪŋ/, 2 syllables.
What type of surname is Harding?: Harding is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Harding getting more or less common?: More common. 38,340 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 39,787 in 2010, up 3.8%.
What are other spellings of Harding?: Hardinge.
Is Harding also a first name?: Yes. Harding is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.