Harriet
Harriet was the 1073rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 226 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 73rd; the most babies were born in 1921 (2,389). Over the last ten years it has moved up 234 places. More babies were named Harriet in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning feminine of Harry (Henry) · English, French, Germanic
Say it HAIR-ee-it /ˈhɛɹiət/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,073 girls, up 3 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 226girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19212,389 babies
- Total since 1880
- 90,427babies recorded
What does the name Harriet mean?
Harriet is an English form of French Henriette, the feminine of Henri (Henry), as Wiktionary notes; DMNES treats it as a diminutive of Harry, the English spelling of Henry that reflects the French pronunciation, and records Haryet in England from 1559. Henry comes from Germanic heim 'home' and rīc 'ruler'. Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe are famous American bearers.
heim (Old High German, “home”)rīc (Old High German, “ruler”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Henrietta, Hattie, Harry, Henry.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean king or queen.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Harriet', DMNES (Durham University)
- Wiktionary, entry 'Harriet', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Harriet
The usual nicknames for Harriet are Hattie and Hallie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Harriet in the last five years, 735 were named Hallie, against 1920 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hattie · also for Henrietta | Traditional | #334 | 3,994 |
| Hallie | Traditional | #120 | 8,143 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Harriets go by each one.
Harriet popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 121 since 1908.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,073 | 226 |
| 2020 | #1,076 | 230 |
| 2010 | #3,020 | 56 |
| 2000 | #3,546 | 37 |
| 1990 | #3,177 | 35 |
| 1980 | #1,891 | 57 |
| 1970 | #819 | 169 |
| 1960 | #451 | 470 |
| 1950 | #246 | 934 |
| 1940 | #157 | 1,363 |
| 1930 | #138 | 1,598 |
| 1920 | #112 | 2,360 |
| 1910 | #126 | 637 |
| 1900 | #134 | 461 |
| 1890 | #102 | 399 |
| 1880 | #73 | 319 |
How popular is Harriet, counting every spelling?
Harriet is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #990 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #1,073 for Harriet on its own. Together these spellings went to 243 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harriet | 226 | #1,073 | 1,108 |
| Harriett | 17 | #6,641 | 57 |
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 Harriet?
226 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Harriet (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Harriet 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 37 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Harriet.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Harriet?
About 23,400 people born in the US named Harriet are alive today, with a median age of 75; half are between 62 and 83. That makes Harriet a name most people associate with older generations.
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.
Harriet by state
How common Harriet was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Minnesota (6.5×), Colorado (2.6×), Massachusetts (2.4×), Washington (2.0×), Wisconsin (1.9×). In 23 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Harriet: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Harriet, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Harriet · Sibling names for Harriet
Questions about the name Harriet
What does Harriet mean?
Harriet means “feminine of Harry (Henry)” (English, French, Germanic origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Harriet?
Harriet was the 1073rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 226 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 73rd; the most babies were born in 1921 (2,389). Over the last ten years it has moved up 234 places. More babies were named Harriet in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Harriet a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Harriet in the US.
Where is Harriet most popular?
In 2021–2025, Harriet was most common in Vermont (1.03 per 1,000 girls), followed by Minnesota and District of Columbia.