2000
#23,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,013
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.38
Rare Last name
Harring
A locational surname derived from a place name in England.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,093 Americans carry the last name Harring. That puts it at #26,900 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 313,590 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harring 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 Harring with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.1K
1 in 313,590
Census rank
#26,900
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
953
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 953 bearers of the surname Harring in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 26900th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harring, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harring
The surname HARRING has its origins in England and dates back to the 13th century. It is derived from an Old English word "haring" which referred to a type of fish, the herring. The name likely originated as a nickname for someone who regularly caught or sold herring.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which contain references to a William Harring in Oxfordshire. Similar spellings such as Haring and Harringe were also found in various medieval records and documents from that time period.
The HARRING name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Gloucestershire, where fishing and trade in herring were common occupations. Some early bearers of the name may have lived near or worked in areas associated with the herring trade, such as coastal towns or fishing villages.
Notable individuals with the surname HARRING include John Harring, a merchant from Bristol who lived in the late 15th century, and William Harring, a farmer from Oxfordshire mentioned in the Lay Subsidy Rolls of 1524.
In the 17th century, records show a Thomas Harring who was a member of the Worshipful Company of Fishmongers in London, indicating the family's continued association with the fishing industry.
Another prominent figure was Robert Harring, a wealthy landowner from Gloucestershire who lived during the reign of King Charles II (1660-1685).
Perhaps the most famous bearer of the HARRING surname was Sir John Harring (1675-1741), a renowned explorer and navigator who accompanied Captain James Cook on his voyages to the Pacific Ocean in the late 18th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harring
Among Census respondents with the surname Harring, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Harring 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 Harring surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.9% · 761
- Black or African American12.9% · 123
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 31
- Two or more races3.0% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harring
Harring 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
#21,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,248
+235 bearers (+23.2%)
Per 100,000 0.42
Rank movement Up 2,354 places
2020
#26,900
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 953
-295 bearers (-23.6%)
Per 100,000 0.32
Rank movement Down 5,843 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,411 | 1,013 | 0.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #21,057 | 1,248 | 0.42 | +235 bearers (+23.2%) | Up 2,354 places |
| 2020 | #26,900 | 953 | 0.32 | -295 bearers (-23.6%) | Down 5,843 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 Harring 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 | #21,057 | #26,900 | -27.7% |
| Count | 1,248 | 953 | -23.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.42 | 0.32 | -24.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harring bearers went from 1,248 to 953 (-23.6% change). The surname moved down 5,843 positions in the national ranking, going from #21,057 to #26,900.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Harring
FAQ
Harring surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harring?
Name Census estimates that about 1,093 living Americans carry the surname Harring. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 313,590 residents.
How common is Harring?
Harring ranks #26,900 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.32 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 953 people with the surname Harring. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,093), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.32 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.32 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Harring.
Has Harring become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harring went from 1,248 recorded bearers to 953. That is a decrease of 295 (-23.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #21,057 to #26,900.
What does the Census say about the background of Harring?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harring, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.9%. The next largest groups are Black (12.9%) and Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Harring in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (761 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harring appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.9%), Black (12.9%), Hispanic (3.3%). 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 Harring (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 Harring mean?
A locational surname derived from a place name in England. 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 Harring (0.32 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 Harring?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Harring is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.