Barden
Likely a locational surname meaning someone from a place called Barden, especially the Yorkshire township.
The #5,978 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 53,648 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest evidence points to an English place-name origin. Lower identifies Barden as a township in Yorkshire, which fits a surname formed from residence or origin at that place. The place-name itself is old and may be pre-Norman, but the excerpted sources do not give enough to pin down its deeper literal meaning with confidence.
History
As with many English locational surnames, Barden would have been adopted by people who moved away from the township and were identified by their former home. The Yorkshire place is the most secure historical anchor in the excerpts. Later Irish reference works also list Bardan/Barden-like forms, but those appear to be separate Gaelic-name correspondences rather than the main English surname origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Barden appears in early surname lists alongside a cluster of other English names ending in -den, a pattern often linked to place-names.
From the historical record
“sor. BARDEN. A township in Yorkshire. BAS 402 BER”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom