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Hart Family History

Hart Surname Meaning

English and North German: nickname from Middle English hert (Old English heorot) Middle Low German hërte harte ‘hart stag’ perhaps for a quick-footed or timorous individual. German: variant of Hardt 1 and It is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine).

Jewish (Ashkenazic): artificial name or nickname from German and Yiddish hart ‘hard’. Dutch: from a short form of an ancient Germanic personal name with the first element hard ‘hardy brave strong’.

Dutch (‘t Hart): from Middle Dutch hart modern Dutch hert ‘deer hart’ or hart ‘heart’ applied as a topographic or habitational name referring to a house or inn named for instance ‘t Vliegend Hart (‘the Flying Deer’) or ‘t Dorstig Hart (‘the Thirsty Heart’). Compare De Hart.

Americanized form (a shortened and altered translation) of some of the French surnames containing the word coeur ‘heart’: Francoeur Jolicoeur Vadeboncoeur.

French: from an Old French word meaning ‘rope’ hence possibly a metonymic occupational name for a rope maker or a hangman. Irish (Sligo): Anglicized form of Gaelic Ó hAirt ‘descendant of Art’ a byname meaning ‘bear’ or ‘hero’. Native American (Cheyenne): from a shortened and altered English translation of the Cheyenne personal name Homa'ehesta ‘Beaver Heart’ composed of homa'e ‘beaver’ and hesta ‘heart’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


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Where is the Hart family from?

You can see how Hart families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Hart family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Hart families were found in USA in 1880. In 1840 there were 501 Hart families living in New York. This was about 21% of all the recorded Hart's in USA. New York had the highest population of Hart families in 1840.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Hart surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.

What did your Hart ancestors do for a living?

In 1940, Laborer and Teacher were the top reported jobs for men and women in the USA named Hart. 14% of Hart men worked as a Laborer and 6% of Hart women worked as a Teacher. Some less common occupations for Americans named Hart were Truck Driver and Stenographer.

View Census Data for Hart | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1940

  • Laborer
    14%
  • Farmer
    13%
  • Salesman
    5%
  • Truck Driver
    3%

Top Female Occupations In 1940

  • Teacher
    6%
  • Housewife
    6%
  • Maid
    6%
  • Stenographer
    5%

What Hart family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Hart. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Hart census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

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Passenger Lists

There are 156,000 immigration records available for the last name Hart. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in the USA, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

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Draft Cards

There are 191,000 military records available for the last name Hart. For the veterans among your Hart ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

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