Harmon
A surname with several possible roots, most often explained as a form of Herman or Harman rather than a single secure origin.
The #438 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 4,131 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Harmon is usually treated as a variant spelling or reduced form of Herman/Harman in English records, with the underlying Germanic name meaning roughly 'army man' or 'man of the host.' Some historical Irish surname lists also group Harmon with anglicized Gaelic forms, so in Ireland it may sometimes be a separate adoption rather than a direct line from the Germanic personal name. Because the surname appears in more than one naming tradition, its origin is not always the same from family to family.
History
The name is found in English parish and marriage records by the 1600s and later became established in Britain and North America. Nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century surname dictionaries often cross-reference Harmon with Herman, Harman, and related spellings, reflecting the way clerks and recorders treated the name as a spelling variant. In Irish onomastic works it also appears among surnames that can overlap with anglicized Gaelic forms, so the history of the name can differ by region.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In older surname indexes, Harmon is often listed alongside Harman and Herman rather than given its own separate origin, which is a clue that the spelling was historically fluid.
From the historical record
“iGSj. Married — Jolin Balsnun and Harmon Kynvin ; 5l Mair Alderniai7, London, 40, o,< Bath, Bathe.— Local, 'of Bath,'”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances