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Harder History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Harder History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany
Switzerland

The name Harder has a long Anglo-Saxon heritage. The name comes from when a family lived in Upper Hardres or Lower Hardres, near Canterbury referred to as Hardres. Both parishes dates back to Saxon times where they were collectively known as Haredum in 785. 1 By the Domesday Book of 1086, the parishes were known as Hardes. 2 The place names literally mean "place at the woods," from the Old English "harad." 1

Early Origins of the Harder family

The surname Harder was first found in Kent, where family members were Lords of the manor Lyminge. The earliest recorded ancestor is Robert de Hardres, who lived during the reigns of Edward the Confessor and William the Conqueror. He held his lands from the Archbishop of Canterbury, which consisted of a church, a mill, and a fishery of forty eels, as recorded in the Domesday Book. 2

"There are two parishes in that county so called, and Hardres Court was the family seat down to the extinction of the baronetcy in 1764. The family derived from Ardres in Picardy and conferred their name upon the Kentish localities-a circumstance of rare but not of unique occurrence. "3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had two listings for the family, both in Kent: Gunnora de Hardres; and Robert de Hardres. 4

Early History of the Harder family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Harder research. Another 195 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1606, 1610, 1635, 1642, 1660, 1664, 1669, 1673, 1676, 1679, 1681, 1686, 1688, 1718, 1736 and 1764 are included under the topic Early Harder History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harder Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Harder have been found, including Hardress, Hardres, Hardresse, Hardrese, Harders and many more.

Early Notables of the Harder family

Distinguished members of the family include Sir Richard Hadres of Kent, Baronet, who was buried in London in 1676; and Sir Thomas Hardres (1610-1681), an English barrister and politician, Member of Parliament for Canterbury, Kent (1664), King's Serjeant (1679). He was...
Another 41 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Harder Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Harder Ranking

In the United States, the name Harder is the 2,720^th most popular surname with an estimated 12,435 people with that name. 5 However, in Canada, the name Harder is ranked the 781^st most popular surname with an estimated 6,879 people with that name. 6

Harder migration to the United States +

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Harder, or a variant listed above:

Harder Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

J. G. Harder traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1808
Elis Harder, who landed in America in 1847 7
Abrah Harder, who arrived in New York in 1874
Herm Harder, aged 46, who landed in New York, NY in 1874 7
John Harder, aged 51, who arrived in New York, NY in 1874 7
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Harder Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Julius Harder, who landed in Arkansas in 1906 7

Harder migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Harder Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

Richard Harder, who landed in Canada in 1830
Phillip Harder, who arrived in Manitoba in 1874
Abraham Harder, who landed in Manitoba in 1874
Cornelius Harder, who landed in Manitoba in 1875
Diedrich Harder, who arrived in Manitoba in 1875
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Harder (post 1700) +

William G. Harder, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for New York State Assembly from Columbia County, 1909 8
William A. Harder, American politician, Mayor of Hudson, New York, 1904-05 8
Stacie Harder, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Indiana, 2000 8
Minard Harder, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from New York 14th District, 1870 8
Marvin A. Harder, American Democratic Party politician, Kansas Democratic State Chair, 1954-55; Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Kansas, 1956 8
Margaret G. Harder, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Ohio, 1936 8
Lewis F. Harder, American Republican politician, Manufacturer; Member of New York State Assembly from Columbia County, 1924-25 8
Gustav Harder, American politician, Candidate for Wisconsin State Senate 24th District, 1948 8
Charles P. Harder, American Republican politician, Postmaster at Danville, Pennsylvania, 1902-06 8
Allan E. Harder, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Oklahoma, 1996 8
... (Another 7 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Harder family +

Bismarck

Heinz Harder (1921-1941), German Mechanikersobergefreiter who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 9

RMS Titanic

Mr. William Harder, aged 39, English Window Cleaner from Southampton, Hampshire who worked aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping on life boat 14 10
Mrs. Dorothy Harder, (née Annan), aged 21, American First Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 5 10
Mr. George Achilles Harder, aged 25, American First Class passenger from New York City, New York who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and survived the sinking escaping in life boat 5 10

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details
Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html