# Harlan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/harlan/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | “grey”, “hare”, “land” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 26,980 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 26,481 / 499 (2% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 915, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

American contraction of Harland, from Old English har (“grey”) / hara (“hare”) + land (“land”).

## What it means

Harlan is grouped under earth.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 15 | 7,934 |
| 2012 | 16 | 7,585 |
| 2013 | 20 | 6,334 |
| 2014 | 21 | 6,074 |
| 2015 | 33 | 4,335 |
| 2016 | 27 | 5,047 |
| 2017 | 34 | 4,251 |
| 2018 | 24 | 5,373 |
| 2019 | 21 | 5,861 |
| 2020 | 31 | 4,390 |
| 2021 | 42 | 3,637 |
| 2022 | 40 | 3,790 |
| 2023 | 50 | 3,243 |
| 2024 | 44 | 3,536 |
| 2025 | 36 | 4,015 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 160 | 1,134 |
| 2012 | 178 | 1,067 |
| 2013 | 252 | 846 |
| 2014 | 224 | 942 |
| 2015 | 275 | 822 |
| 2016 | 274 | 829 |
| 2017 | 297 | 788 |
| 2018 | 319 | 744 |
| 2019 | 278 | 818 |
| 2020 | 368 | 692 |
| 2021 | 433 | 638 |
| 2022 | 357 | 728 |
| 2023 | 418 | 654 |
| 2024 | 412 | 666 |
| 2025 | 454 | 617 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 21 | 1,209 |
| 2012 | 33 | 901 |
| 2013 | 37 | 821 |
| 2014 | 34 | 866 |
| 2015 | 52 | 656 |
| 2016 | 48 | 712 |
| 2017 | 73 | 531 |
| 2018 | 33 | 897 |
| 2019 | 33 | 894 |
| 2020 | 55 | 627 |
| 2021 | 66 | 577 |
| 2022 | 67 | 561 |
| 2023 | 58 | 614 |
| 2024 | 73 | 529 |
| 2025 | 82 | 474 |

## People named Harlan

- Harlan Ellison, American writer (1934–2018)
- Harlan Coben, American writer
- Harlan F. Stone, chief justice of the United States from 1941 to 1946
- Harlan Mathews, American politician (1927–2014)
- John Harlan Kim, Australian actor
- Harlan Marbley, boxer (1943–2008)
- Harlan Howard, American country music songwriter (1927–2002)
- Harlan Leonard, American musician (1905–1983)
- Harlan J. Bushfield, American politician (1882-1948)
- Harlan Briggs, American actor (1879-1952)
- Harlan Warde, American actor (1917-1980)
- Harlan Hagen, American politician (1914-1990)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.