Given name & surname · also Middle English
Heard
“herd”
Heard is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from Old English.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Heard goes back to Old English heord, meaning “herd.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Heard comes from Middle English, and ultimately from Old English.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1929. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Heard through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1929
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1929. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 22,548 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.
Similar names
If you love Heard, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Hilburn
“hill”
>99% boys
Welford
“well, spring, stream”
>99% boys
Hilbert
“battle”
>99% boys
Bedford
Bedford is a surname from Middle English, ultimately from Old English.
>99% boys
Hamer
“one who wields a hammer”
>99% boys
Walmer
“Welshman” · “lake, sea”
>99% boys
Edwards
Edwards is a surname from Old English.
>99% boys
Belford
“bell; bell-shaped hill”
>99% boys