2000
#4,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,470
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.40
Rare Last name
Bard
A descriptive surname referring to a poet or minstrel, derived from the Middle English and Old French term.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,572 Americans carry the last name Bard. That puts it at #5,816 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 52,154 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bard surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.6K
1 in 52,154
Census rank
#5,816
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,731 bearers of the surname Bard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5816th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bard, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bard
The surname Bard originated in medieval France and is derived from the Old French word "bard" meaning a poet or minstrel. The name first appeared in the historical records in the 12th century and was likely initially an occupational name for a wandering poet or storyteller.
The earliest known record of the surname Bard dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which contains the entry "Bardo" in Normandy. This suggests that the name was already in use in France before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
In the 13th century, the name Bard was found in various regions of France, including Brittany, Normandy, and the Île-de-France. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Raoul Bard, a poet and troubadour from Brittany who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
During the Middle Ages, the Bard family established itself in several regions of France, including the provinces of Anjou, Poitou, and Touraine. In the 14th century, the name appeared in the form "Bardus" in the records of the city of Angers.
One notable bearer of the surname was Jean Bard, a French lawyer and diplomat who lived in the 15th century. He served as the ambassador of King Charles VII to the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund.
In the 16th century, the Bard family produced several notable figures, including Jean Bard, a French Protestant theologian and reformer who lived from 1534 to 1599. Another prominent individual was Pierre Bard, a French physician and botanist who lived from 1556 to 1637.
The surname Bard eventually spread beyond France to other parts of Europe and the British Isles. In England, the name was likely introduced by French Huguenot refugees fleeing religious persecution in the 16th and 17th centuries. One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name in England was William Bard, a merchant who was born in London in 1635.
Another notable English bearer of the surname was Sir John Bard, a politician and member of Parliament who lived from 1716 to 1784. He served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1767.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bard
Among Census respondents with the surname Bard, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Bard bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Bard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.8% · 4,859
- Black or African American6.5% · 371
- Two or more races4.3% · 249
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 179
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 33
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bard
Bard appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#5,809
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,953
-517 bearers (-8.0%)
Per 100,000 2.02
Rank movement Down 828 places
2020
#5,816
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,731
-222 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 1.92
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,981 | 6,470 | 2.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,809 | 5,953 | 2.02 | -517 bearers (-8.0%) | Down 828 places |
| 2020 | #5,816 | 5,731 | 1.92 | -222 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 7 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Bard surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #5,809 | #5,816 | -0.1% |
| Count | 5,953 | 5,731 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.02 | 1.92 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bard bearers went from 5,953 to 5,731 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,809 to #5,816.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bard
FAQ
Bard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bard?
Name Census estimates that about 6,572 living Americans carry the surname Bard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 52,154 residents.
How common is Bard?
Bard ranks #5,816 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,731 people with the surname Bard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,572), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Bard.
Has Bard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bard went from 5,953 recorded bearers to 5,731. That is a decrease of 222 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,809 to #5,816.
What does the Census say about the background of Bard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bard, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.8%. The next largest groups are Black (6.5%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (4,859 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.8%), Black (6.5%), Two or More Races (4.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Bard (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Bard mean?
A descriptive surname referring to a poet or minstrel, derived from the Middle English and Old French term. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Bard (1.92 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Bard?
Find out how many people have the last name Bard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.