Hardwick
A habitational surname meaning “from Hardwick,” originally referring to a settlement or farmstead by a herd enclosure or dairy farm.
The #3,310 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 28,479 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Hardwick is a habitational surname, taken from one of several places called Hardwick in England. The name comes from Old English hard, likely meaning “herd” or “cattle,” plus wīc, a term for a settlement, outlying farm, or dairy farm. So the place-name originally meant something like “herd farm” or “cattle settlement.”
History
The excerpts show Bardsley treating Hardwick as a local surname from places in Yorkshire and elsewhere, with early forms such as de Herdewyk. Surnames of this type became common when people were identified by the place they came from or lived near. The name remains especially familiar in England and later spread to North America and other English-speaking countries.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Several different English places called Hardwick helped generate the surname, so not every Hardwick family descends from the same original village.
From the historical record
“For the vowel-change in the surnames cp. Hardwick. There has prob. been some confusion with Stothard, q.v. Cp. Studdapd.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)