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The surnameHarris

An English patronymic surname, the 25th most common in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈhæɹɪs/ 2 syllables Soundex H620 Also a first name

Harris: #25 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Harris #25, 624,252 people Harris: #25 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#1,000Archer Harris #25, 624,252 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Harris is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

English origin

From Harry + -s (“patronymic suffix”). From Harry, a male given name derived from a Middle English pronunciation of Old French Henri.

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

One of 1,446 English surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 624,252 people named Harris in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 495 Americans. That is up 5.2% since 2000, when the Census counted 593,542.

#25
rank among US surnames
624,252
people in 2010
212
per 100,000 Americans
+5.2%
change since 2000 (was #24)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#16Thomas756,142408
#17Taylor751,209411
#18Moore724,374426
#19Jackson708,099436
#20Martin702,625439
#21Lee693,023446
#22Perez681,645453

Who is named Harris

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

51% of people named Harris identified as white (not Hispanic), 42% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.8% as two or more races.

  • White (not Hispanic) 51%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 42%
  • Two or more races 2.8%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.7%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Harriss

165 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Ed Harris
    American actor and director (born 1950)
  • Neil Patrick Harris
    American actor (born 1973)
  • Sam Harris
    American author, philosopher and neuroscientist (born 1967)
  • Naomie Harris
    British actress, born 1976
  • Estelle Harris
    American actress (1928–2022)
  • Steve Harris
    British bassist, born 1956
  • Julie Harris
    American actress (1925–2013)
  • Jared Harris
    British actor, born 1961
  • Danielle Harris
    American actress, born 1977
  • Thomas Harris
    American author and screenwriter, born 1940
  • Mildred Harris
    American actress (1901–1944)
  • Marvin Harris
    American anthropologist (1927-2001)

Notable Harriss come mostly from the United States (137), the United Kingdom (16) and Australia (6).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Harris

Harris has the Soundex code H620, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code H620.

Other English surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Harris come from?
From Harry + -s (“patronymic suffix”). From Harry, a male given name derived from a Middle English pronunciation of Old French Henri.
How common is the surname Harris?
624,252 people in the United States had the surname Harris in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 495 Americans. It ranked 25th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Harris?
In the 2010 Census, 51% of people named Harris identified as white (not Hispanic), and 42% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Harris?
Ed Harris, American actor and director (born 1950), followed by Neil Patrick Harris.