2000
#247
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112,136
First available Census row
Per 100,000 41.57
Common Last name
Harvey
Derived from a French place name meaning "battle worthy" or from an Old Breton word meaning "iron".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128,108 Americans carry the last name Harvey. That puts it at #273 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 37.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,676 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Harvey 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 Harvey with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
128K
1 in 2,676
Census rank
#273
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
37.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 111,716 bearers of the surname Harvey in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 37.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 273rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Harvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Harvey
The surname Harvey is of English origin, derived from an Old French personal name Hervé or Hervieu, which in turn comes from the Germanic name Heriwig, meaning "army battle." The name is thought to have been introduced to England by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The earliest known record of the name is found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as Hervi and Hervei. In the 12th century, it was recorded as Hervey and Harvei.
During the Middle Ages, the name was prevalent in various parts of England, including Norfolk, Suffolk, and Lincolnshire. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was William Hervey, a 12th-century landowner in Suffolk.
In the 14th century, the name was associated with the village of Ickworth in Suffolk, which was known as Hervey's Manor or Harvey's Manor. This connection to a place name likely contributed to the establishment of Harvey as a distinct surname.
Notable individuals with the surname Harvey throughout history include:
1. Gabriel Harvey (c. 1550-1631), an English poet and scholar who was a contemporary of Edmund Spenser.
2. William Harvey (1578-1657), an English physician who made seminal discoveries about the circulation of blood in the human body.
3. Sir Thomas Harvey (1630-1701), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament.
4. Francis Harvey (1634-1680), an English soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Virginia from 1630 to 1642.
5. Jonathan Harvey (1939-2012), an English composer known for his avant-garde works and contributions to electronic music.
While the surname Harvey has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through British colonial expansions and emigration movements.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harvey
Among Census respondents with the surname Harvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Harvey 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 Harvey surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White65.0% · 72,645
- Black or African American24.8% · 27,683
- Two or more races4.5% · 5,066
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 3,800
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.6% · 1,769
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 753
Timeline
Historical Census data for Harvey
Harvey 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
#266
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115,662
+3,526 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 39.21
Rank movement Down 19 places
2020
#273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111,716
-3,946 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 37.38
Rank movement Down 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #247 | 112,136 | 41.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #266 | 115,662 | 39.21 | +3,526 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 19 places |
| 2020 | #273 | 111,716 | 37.38 | -3,946 bearers (-3.4%) | 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 Harvey 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 | #266 | #273 | -2.6% |
| Count | 115,662 | 111,716 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 39.21 | 37.38 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Harvey bearers went from 115,662 to 111,716 (-3.4% change). The surname moved down 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #266 to #273.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Harvey
FAQ
Harvey surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Harvey?
Name Census estimates that about 128,108 living Americans carry the surname Harvey. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,676 residents.
How common is Harvey?
Harvey ranks #273 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 37.38 per 100,000 residents, which is about 37 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 111,716 people with the surname Harvey. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128,108), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 37.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 37.38 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 37 of them to have the surname Harvey.
Has Harvey become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Harvey went from 115,662 recorded bearers to 111,716. That is a decrease of 3,946 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #266 to #273.
What does the Census say about the background of Harvey?
Among Census respondents with the surname Harvey, the largest self-reported group is White at 65.0%. The next largest groups are Black (24.8%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Harvey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.0% (72,645 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Harvey appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (65.0%), Black (24.8%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Harvey (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 Harvey mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "battle worthy" or from an Old Breton word meaning "iron". 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 Harvey (37.38 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 Harvey?
See how many people have the surname Harvey on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.