Harlow
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.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harlow peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
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.
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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