Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2023

Harlow

Meaning rock Gender Unisex · 84% girls Rank 2025 #309 Trend ↑ Rising 22%

From Old English hær (“rock”) or here (“army”) + hlæw (“hill”).

Rank 2025
#309
among girls · ↓16 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,148
named Harlow · -8% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,638
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2023
1,455 babies
All-time total
16,655
#1,353 all-time among girls
First recorded
1882
in Social Security records

Harlow popularity over time

16,655 babies have been named Harlow since 1882, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 28 28 3 – –
1890s – 41 41 4 +46% –
1900s – 36 36 4 -12% –
1910s – 274 274 27 +661% –
1920s – 329 329 33 +20% –
1930s – 325 325 33 -1% –
1940s – 225 225 23 -31% –
1950s – 133 133 13 -41% –
1960s – 51 51 5 -62% –
1970s – 27 27 3 -47% –
1980s – 5 5 1 -81% –
1990s – 10 10 1 +100% –
2000s 516 43 559 56 +5490% #905
2010s 6,697 321 7,018 702 +1155% #316
2020s (to 2025) 6,773 821 7,594 1,266 +80% #237

Where Harlow is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,007 0.63 #304
2027 1,031 0.64 #299
2028 1,051 0.65 #293
2029 1,068 0.66 #288
2030 1,083 0.67 #286

Where Harlow is most popular

Girls named Harlow per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.717 per 1,000. Strongest in Montana, Alaska, and North Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Harlow born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Montana 39 2.88 +302%
Alaska 19 2.21 +208%
North Dakota 29 2.21 +208%
Oregon 133 2.04 +185%
South Dakota 28 1.96 +174%
West Virginia 51 1.95 +172%
Idaho 65 1.94 +171%
Iowa 107 1.83 +156%
Wisconsin 169 1.64 +129%
New Hampshire 30 1.62 +127%
Nebraska 58 1.61 +125%
Nevada 72 1.55 +116%
Kansas 88 1.53 +113%
Minnesota 157 1.45 +103%
Oklahoma 107 1.45 +103%
Kentucky 114 1.33 +86%
Arkansas 70 1.32 +85%
Missouri 155 1.29 +79%
Colorado 141 1.26 +76%
Arizona 164 1.17 +63%
Washington 163 1.13 +57%
Indiana 156 1.11 +55%
Ohio 263 1.11 +55%
Utah 92 1.11 +54%
Pennsylvania 226 0.956 +33%
Michigan 169 0.928 +29%
Connecticut 52 0.894 +25%
Alabama 83 0.884 +23%
South Carolina 76 0.845 +18%
Illinois 179 0.782 +9%
North Carolina 172 0.755 +5%
Maryland 79 0.746 ≈ national
Tennessee 116 0.732 ≈ national
Georgia 165 0.726 ≈ national
California 603 0.717 ≈ national
Virginia 109 0.639 -11%
Massachusetts 75 0.620 -13%
Louisiana 53 0.606 -16%
Florida 254 0.594 -17%
Mississippi 27 0.577 -19%
New York 228 0.576 -20%
Texas 450 0.559 -22%
New Mexico 13 0.535 -25%
Delaware 6 0.529 -26%
New Jersey 95 0.526 -27%
Maine 8 0.517 -28%
Hawaii 5 0.436 -39%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 -44%
District of Columbia – – –
Vermont – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Harlow

Harlow is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #309 in 2025 with 981 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1882, 16,655 American babies have been named Harlow, about 84% girls and 16% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2023, when 1,455 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Harlow stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Harlow?

The median living Harlow is about 6 years old; half are between 3 and 10. An estimated 15 thousand people named Harlow are alive in the United States today.

median 6 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Harlow year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 981 #309 167 #1,214
2024 1,083 #293 159 #1,246
2023 1,273 #238 182 #1,151
2022 1,199 #263 166 #1,201
2021 1,278 #237 86 #1,818
2020 959 #324 61 #2,246
2019 1,009 #316 45 #2,778
2018 863 #366 46 #2,685
2017 798 #390 38 #3,088
2016 786 #420 35 #3,250
2015 759 #422 24 #4,211
2014 611 #509 35 #3,172
2013 545 #546 31 #3,439
2012 507 #579 33 #3,324
2011 465 #623 13 #6,367
2010 354 #777 21 #4,576
2009 301 #905 18 #5,169
2008 133 #1,679 10 #7,894
2007 28 #5,145 – –
2006 15 #8,007 9 #8,252
2005 11 #9,688 – –
2004 12 #8,901 – –
2003 10 #9,937 6 #10,031
2002 6 #14,227 – –
2001 – – – –
2000 – – – –
1995 – – 5 #9,363
1990 – – – –
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – 6 #4,439
1965 – – 5 #4,137
1960 – – 9 #2,953
1955 – – 12 #2,358
1950 – – 15 #1,969
1945 – – 21 #1,466
1940 – – 33 #1,168
1935 – – 31 #1,213
1930 – – 29 #1,350
1925 – – 23 #1,604
1920 – – 32 #1,287
1915 – – 36 #1,075
1910 – – 5 #1,695
1905 – – 6 #1,157
1900 – – 10 #870
1895 – – 7 #926
1890 – – – –
1885 – – 5 #1,005
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Harlow

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Harlow Shapley Harlow Shapley American scientist and political activist (1885–1972) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Harlow, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Harlow?

The median living Harlow is about 6 years old. Half of all living Harlows are between 3 and 10 years old.

How many people named Harlow are alive today?

An estimated 15 thousand people named Harlow are alive in the United States, based on 16,655 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Harlow mean?

From Old English hær (“rock”) or here (“army”) + hlæw (“hill”).

How popular is the name Harlow in 2025?

Harlow ranked #309 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 981 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Harlow?

16,655 babies have been named Harlow in the United States since 1882, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Harlow most popular?

Harlow peaked in 2023, when 1,455 newborns received the name.

Is Harlow a boy or girl name?

Harlow is used for both: about 84% of babies named Harlow have been girls and 16% boys.

Is the name Harlow rising or falling?

Harlow is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Harlow become more popular?

Harlow is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,083 girls named Harlow in 2030, which would rank around #286. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Harlow?

Well-known people named Harlow include Harlow Shapley (astronomer).

Names like Harlow

Names that sound and feel close to Harlow: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Harlow with similar names → More names starting with H →