Harlan
Harlan was the 617th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 454 babies. Its best year was 1924, when it ranked 253rd with 519 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 205 places. More babies were named Harlan in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning grey land or hare land (English) · Old English
Say it HAR-lun /ˈhɑrlən/
- Rank in 2025
- #617 boys, up 75 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 454boys
- Girls and boys
- 9% girls, 91% boys2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1924519 babies
- Total since 1880
- 26,980babies recorded
What does the name Harlan mean?
Harlan is an American contraction of the surname Harland, according to Wiktionary, from Old English hār, grey, or hara, hare, plus land. So it means a grey stretch of land, or land where hares were found; the sources do not say which. Wiktionary lists several US places named Harlan. As a first name it has been used in the US since 1880.
hār (Old English, “grey”)hara (Old English, “hare”)land (Old English, “land”)
How sure is this? Uncertain. Wiktionary offers 'grey' or 'hare' for the first element.
Related names: Harland, Harlen.
See also: English names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Harlan' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Harlan popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Rank (boys) | Babies (girls) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #4,015 | #617 | 36 | 454 |
| 2020 | #4,390 | #692 | 31 | 368 |
| 2010 | #7,317 | #1,169 | 17 | 157 |
| 2000 | — | #1,491 | — | 82 |
| 1990 | — | #1,151 | — | 89 |
| 1980 | — | #976 | — | 85 |
| 1970 | — | #706 | — | 139 |
| 1960 | — | #518 | — | 234 |
| 1950 | — | #408 | — | 273 |
| 1940 | — | #330 | — | 301 |
| 1930 | — | #275 | — | 425 |
| 1920 | — | #319 | — | 331 |
| 1910 | — | #426 | — | 41 |
| 1900 | — | #567 | — | 19 |
| 1890 | — | #547 | — | 13 |
| 1880 | — | #707 | — | 8 |
How popular is Harlan, counting every spelling?
Harlan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #545 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #617 for Harlan on its own. Together these spellings went to 551 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harlan | 454 | #617 | 2,074 |
| Harlen | 59 | #2,338 | 303 |
| Harlin | 24 | #4,303 | 115 |
| Harlon | 14 | #6,241 | 60 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Harlan?
454 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Harlan (0.13 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Harlan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 18 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Harlan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Harlan?
About 13,000 people born in the US named Harlan are alive today, with a median age of 39; half are between 9 and 69. That makes Harlan mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Harlan by state
How common Harlan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Kentucky (4.2×), Minnesota (2.9×), Iowa (2.8×), West Virginia (2.5×), Tennessee (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Utah, Nevada, Massachusetts.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Harlan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Harlan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Harlan · Sibling names for Harlan
Questions about the name Harlan
What does Harlan mean?
Harlan is usually explained as “grey land or hare land (English)”, but this is uncertain. Certainty: uncertain.
How popular is the name Harlan?
Harlan was the 617th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 454 babies. Its best year was 1924, when it ranked 253rd with 519 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 205 places. More babies were named Harlan in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Harlan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, 9% girls, 91% boys given the name Harlan in the US.
Where is Harlan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Harlan was most common in Kentucky (1.02 per 1,000 boys), followed by Minnesota and Iowa.