Harlow
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Meaning
place name/surname, "rock hill"
The story
Harlow is a rock-hill place-surname that owes its first life to one woman and its second to her memory. The 1930s bump, about 330 in a tiny field, coincides with Jean Harlow's reign as Hollywood's original platinum blonde; the name then fell to virtual extinction, five recorded in all of the 1980s, ten in the 1990s. The resurrection is precisely dated: about 560 in the 2000s, the decade a celebrity daughter revived the surname as a first name, then 7,000 in the 2010s and already 7,600 so far this decade, past the full 2010s. Decade buckets point, they do not convict, twice over in this case. In our records it runs about 14,000 girls to 2,600 boys, about eight to one girls this decade. Old Hollywood glamour, a near-death, and a second act: the name lives its own screenplay.
How popular is Harlow around the world?
In the United States, 7,594 babies were named Harlow between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 21 girls were registered as Harlow in 2017.
Harlow is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Canada, England and Wales and Ireland.
United States
1 in 2,900
In the United States, 7,594 babies were named Harlow between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harlow peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
South Australia
1 in 8802017
In South Australia, 21 girls were registered as Harlow in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
New Zealand
1 in 1,400
In New Zealand, 28 girls named Harlow were registered in 2025.
In New Zealand, 13 boys named Harlow were registered in 2025.
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
1 in 1,600
In Scotland, 26 girls named Harlow were registered in 2024, the 160th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Canada
1 in 2,400
In Canada, 134 girls named Harlow were born in 2024, the 216th most common name among girls 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)
England and Wales
1 in 2,600
In England and Wales, 133 girls named Harlow were born in 2025, the 325th most common name among girls that year.
In England and Wales, 96 boys named Harlow were born in 2025, the 418th 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
Ireland
1 in 9,000
In Ireland, 6 girls named Harlow were born in 2025, the 544th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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 South Wales
outside the top 100
Harlow is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby 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 Harlow
Most people given the name Harlow in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Harlow deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Harlow 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 Harlow fits with your family’s names and surname.
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