2000
#1,055
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,236
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.21
Uncommon Last name
Hartley
From an English place name meaning "stag wood," or an occupational name for a deer herder.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,833 Americans carry the last name Hartley. That puts it at #1,171 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,131 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hartley 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 Hartley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,131
Census rank
#1,171
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,504 bearers of the surname Hartley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1171st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hartley
The surname Hartley originated in England and is believed to have derived from the Old English words "heorot" meaning a stag or male deer, and "leah" meaning a meadow or woodland clearing. This suggests that the name originally referred to a person who lived near a deer meadow or forest clearing.
Hartley is an English locational surname, indicating that it was initially taken from the place name of various towns and villages in England, primarily in Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Derbyshire. These place names were often derived from the same Old English roots as the surname.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hartley can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Henricus de Hertleia in Yorkshire. This entry suggests that the name was already in use by the late 11th century.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms such as Herteley, Hertelay, and Hartlay, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation common during that time period.
Notable individuals with the surname Hartley throughout history include:
1. David Hartley (1705-1757), an English philosopher and founder of the associationist school of psychology.
2. Jonathan Scott Hartley (1845-1912), an English-born American inventor and engineer, best known for patenting the first successful glass-blowing machine.
3. Leslie Poles Hartley (1895-1972), an English novelist and critic, whose works include "The Go-Between" and "The Hireling."
4. Dorothy Hartley (1893-1985), an English writer and social historian, known for her works on traditional English country life and customs.
5. Marsden Hartley (1877-1943), an American Modernist painter and leading figure in the early 20th century avant-garde movement.
The surname Hartley is also associated with various place names in England, such as Hartley Wintney in Hampshire, Hartley in Kent, and Great Hartley in Northumberland, among others. These place names likely contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname in different regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hartley
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Hartley 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 Hartley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.1% · 25,392
- Black or African American6.3% · 1,848
- Two or more races3.7% · 1,083
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 886
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 188
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 107
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hartley
Hartley 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
#1,124
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,221
+985 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 10.58
Rank movement Down 69 places
2020
#1,171
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,504
-1,717 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 9.87
Rank movement Down 47 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,055 | 30,236 | 11.21 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,124 | 31,221 | 10.58 | +985 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 69 places |
| 2020 | #1,171 | 29,504 | 9.87 | -1,717 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 47 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 Hartley 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 | #1,124 | #1,171 | -4.2% |
| Count | 31,221 | 29,504 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 10.58 | 9.87 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hartley bearers went from 31,221 to 29,504 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 47 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,124 to #1,171.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Hartley
FAQ
Hartley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hartley?
Name Census estimates that about 33,833 living Americans carry the surname Hartley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,131 residents.
How common is Hartley?
Hartley ranks #1,171 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,504 people with the surname Hartley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,833), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Hartley.
Has Hartley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hartley went from 31,221 recorded bearers to 29,504. That is a decrease of 1,717 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,124 to #1,171.
What does the Census say about the background of Hartley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 86.1%. The next largest groups are Black (6.3%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hartley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.1% (25,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hartley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (86.1%), Black (6.3%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Hartley (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 Hartley mean?
From an English place name meaning "stag wood," or an occupational name for a deer herder. 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 Hartley (9.87 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 Hartley?
You can see how many people are called Hartley on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.