ninan.org

Harold

Boys' name · Early 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~171,200 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#991 among boys
Births in 2025
230 554,280 since 1880
Typical age
70 years, median

Harold popularity over time

Harold rank by birth year, 1880–2025Harold ranked #116 in 1880 and #991 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #12, in 1915.#100#1,000#991best #12 in 191518901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

More children were named Harold in 1924 than in any other year — 14,230 of them. It is present from 1880, the first year of the record. Harold has spent 83 years inside the national top 100.

The 2025 position is #991, on 230 births. The ten-year change is -19%.

Babies named Harold per yearPeaks at 14,230 births in 1924.14,230 in 1924018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Harold?

About 171,200 people named Harold are alive in the United States today. That is out of 554,280 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Harold?

Median age among living Harolds: 70. The 1950s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Harold a early 20th-century perennial name.

Your Harold

Ages of living people named HaroldHalf of living Harolds are older than 70 and half younger.median 70020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Harold is most common

Harold is 1.7× as common in Washington as it is nationally. Louisiana, Wisconsin and Massachusetts follow.

Where Harold is used more than average5 states use the name Harold more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: 1.7× the national rateWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: 1.5× the national rateWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: not over-representedNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: 1.4× the national rateCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: 1.4× the national rateMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: 1.5× the national rateLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Harold is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Washington 81 1.7×
Louisiana 46 1.5×
Wisconsin 52 1.5×
Massachusetts 56 1.4×
Colorado 50 1.4×

Harold in England and Wales

ONS recorded 23 births named Harold in 2025, ranking it #1,226.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Harold comes from

From a merger of Old English Hereweald and Old English Harold (itself from Old Norse Haraldr), both from Proto-Germanic *Harjawaldaz. Related to Walter, which has the elements reversed. Cognate with da,nn,sv Harald, fo,is Haraldur.

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Harold

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Harold Pinter British playwright 1930–2008 113
Harold Macmillan Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963 1894–1986 96
Harold Wilson Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 1916–1995 94
Harold Urey American physical chemist 1893–1981 76
Harold Lloyd American actor and comedian 1893–1971 75
Harold Harefoot King of England from 1035 to 1040 1016–1040 57
Harold Bloom American literary critic, scholar, and writer 1930–2019 51
Harold E. Varmus American scientist 1939 50
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 2,459 in 1911 to 5,122 in 1912 — 2.1 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/harold.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).