Harlan
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Meaning
surname from a place name meaning "hare land" in Old English; in America sometimes given in honor of Justice John Marshall Harlan
The story
Harlan comes from a surname from a place name meaning "hare land" in Old English, and Behind the Name notes it has sometimes been given in America in honor of Supreme Court justice John Marshall Harlan. The record runs long either way: on the books every decade since the 1890s, about 4,200 boys in the 1920s at the top of its early run, a long fade to about 680 in the 1990s, then the return, about 2,400 in the 2010s and about 2,400 so far this decade, with a small girls' line back in the record after most of a century away. A field of hares, a Supreme Court justice, and a name pulling bigger decades now than it did fifty years ago.
How popular is Harlan around the world?
In the United States, 2,685 babies were named Harlan between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Harlan in 2017.
Harlan is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales, Canada and Brazil.
United States
1 in 8,100
In the United States, 2,685 babies were named Harlan between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harlan peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure. In US birth records Harlan has stayed between 683 and 2,720 births in every decade since the 1950s: a name everyone knows and few children get.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 2,6002017
In South Australia, 7 boys were registered as Harlan in 2017.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
England and Wales
1 in 7,100
In England and Wales, 82 boys named Harlan were born in 2025, the 474th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Canada
1 in 8,300
In Canada, 44 boys named Harlan were born in 2024, the 622nd most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Brazil
1 in 500,000
At the 2022 census, 318 people in Brazil were named Harlan, ranked 18,259th, with a median age of 32.
Among people named Harlan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Ireland
last on record 2024
Harlan is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
New Zealand
last on record 2020
Harlan is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
Scotland
last on record 2022
Harlan is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only). Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Harlan
People given the name Harlan in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 2019. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Harlan deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Harlan truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Harlan fits with your family’s names and surname.
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