Harlan
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harlan peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
318 people · the #18,259 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 32
Among people named Harlan living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
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.
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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