Given name & surname
Harding
“the son of the courageous one”
Harding is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the son of the courageous one.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “the son of the courageous one.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Harding through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,123
- 1,123 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 235 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,697 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,697 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 235 in 1921. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 327 as a first name in 2020; 38,220 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Harding’s family of names
Harding has a related form in Hardinge. Harding has a related form in Hardyng. Harding has a related form in Hardynge.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 13
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Harding
- Harding NanaCameroonian basketball player (born 1981)
- Sailor YoungCricket player of England. (1876-1964)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Harding, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Harden
“from the hare's valley”
>99% boys
Halton
“from the manor on the hill”
>99% boys
Hilton
“a wealthy woman” · “from the town on the hill”
85% boys · 15% girls
Manning
“daughter of Man” · “the son of the man; the son of the hero”
95% boys · 5% girls
Homer
“a tomboyish woman” · “of the pledge; an epic poet”
>99% boys
Irving
“a triend of the sea”
>99% boys
Harry
“the ruler of an army” · “home”
>99% boys
Harold
“the ruler of an army”
>99% boys