nametree
← Harutobrowse · build a nametreeHasan →

Harvey

boy name
Origin
French
Syllables
2
Peak era
1920s/2020s
Today
▲ Rising

Torn between Harvey and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

from the Breton names Hoiarnviu or Haerviu, combining "iron" or "battle" with "eager" or "blazing"

The story

Etiquette gets complicated when a guest brings a rabbit nobody else can see. In Mary Chase’s comedy Harvey, Elwood P. Dowd politely introduces his very tall imaginary companion at a society party, much to his family’s distress. The play reached Broadway in 1944, adding this courteous fictional presence to a name with much older Breton roots. Harvey comes from Hoiarnviu or Haerviu, combining an element for iron or battle with one meaning eager or fiery. The comedy takes its gentler turn through Elwood’s sister Veta. Initially part of the effort to have him institutionalized, she begins to wonder whether life with Harvey might be preferable to losing what she values in her brother. The invisible guest has made a very visible difference to the family’s idea of whom it can welcome.

More names with stories →

How popular is Harvey around the world?

In the United States, 6,224 babies were named Harvey between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 83 boys were registered as Harvey in 2017.

Harvey is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, New Zealand, New South Wales, Scotland, England and Wales, Canada, Ireland, Austria, Mexico City, Poland, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 3,500

In the United States, 6,224 babies were named Harvey between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1920s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Harvey peaked in the 1920s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 220 · 2017

In South Australia, 83 boys were registered as Harvey in 2017.

1944peak 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

See the full list for South Australia →

New Zealand

1 in 850

In New Zealand, 68 boys named Harvey were registered in 2025.

1900peak 2019

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

See the full list for New Zealand →

New South Wales

#28 · 2025

In New South Wales, 187 boys named Harvey were registered in 2025, ranked 28th in that year’s top 100 for boys.

2010peak 20172025

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

See the full list for New South Wales →

Scotland

1 in 1,500

In Scotland, 30 boys named Harvey were registered in 2024, the 152nd most common name among boys that year.

1974peak 20092024

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

See the full list for Scotland →

England and Wales

1 in 1,600

In England and Wales, 372 boys named Harvey were born in 2025, the 138th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20042025

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

See the full list for England and Wales →

Canada

1 in 2,700

In Canada, 134 boys named Harvey were born in 2024, the 242nd most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2023

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)

See the full list for Canada →

Ireland

1 in 3,000

In Ireland, 18 boys named Harvey were born in 2025, the 252nd most common name among boys that year.

1964peak 2021

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

See the full list for Ireland →

Austria

1 in 76,000

In Austria, 1 boy named Harvey was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Mexico City City

1 in 120,000

In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Harvey in 2022.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Poland

1 in 120,000

In Poland, 2 boys named Harvey were born in 2025, the 705th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Spain

1 in 520,000

In Spain, 86 residents are named Harvey, ranked 9,286th among men, with a mean age of 39.5 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Brazil

1 in 1M

At the 2022 census, 143 people in Brazil were named Harvey, ranked 32,124th, with a median age of 14.

The census also counted 59 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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

See the full list for Brazil →

Montevideo City

last on record 2010

Harvey is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Not on the record in Argentina and Puerto Rico: 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 France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Harvey

Calvin Fletcher Curtis Quincy Corbin Dean

Keep exploring

Names like Harvey

The Harvey deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Harvey 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 Harvey fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

Does Harvey fit YOUR family?

nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.

Add Harvey to your family’s tree →
BROWSEAll traditions👶 Baby namesAround the worldAll names🔍 Search a nameName storiesThree-letter namesShort namesVintage revivalsGender-neutralPolishJapaneseCantoneseIrishKoreanIndianMexican American
🌐English ✓EspañolPortuguês
nametree on your phoneDownload on the App StoreGet it on Google Play