A Scottish, English and French surname, the Hardy family name comes from the Old English and the Old English term of ‘hardi’ which means brave person and one who is courageous.
Spellings variations for Hardy include Hardie, MacHardy and Hardey. The Scottish spelling would be Hardie.

The early Hardy families settled in the Lanarkshire region of Scotland. From there the Hardy surname spread to Midlothian, Angus, Berwickshire, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Ayrshire counties.
The northeastern region of England has a high portion of Hardy families, mostly in Yorkshire, Durham, Lincolnshire and in the city of London.

The Hardy family name is scattered over many states within the United States. The states with the highest percentage of Hardy families would be Michigan, Texas, California, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, Mississippi and Kentucky.

Famous: Darrell Hardy (professional basketball player), Evan Hardy (English rugby player), Hagood Hardy ( music composer of Canada), Jim Hardy (professional football player), Jonathan Hardy (screenwriter and actor from New Zealand), Red Hardy (professional baseball player), Oliver Hardy (actor and comic whose partner was Laurel), Thomas Hardy (novelist and poet of England) and William H. Hardy (founder of Hattiesburg, Laurel and Gulfport in Mississippi).