# Harold (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/harold/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | “army”, “ruler”, “authority” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhæɹəld/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Harry |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 554,280 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 551,632 / 2,648 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 738, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From a merger of Old English Hereweald and Old English Harold (itself from Old Norse Haraldr), both from Proto-Germanic *Harjawaldaz, from *harjaz (“army”) + *waldaz (“ruler, authority”). Related to Walter, which has the elements reversed. Cognate with Danish, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish Harald, Faroese and Icelandic Haraldur.

## What it means

Harold is grouped under king and warrior.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 15 | 4,497 |
| 1978 | 13 | 5,019 |
| 1979 | 9 | 6,900 |
| 1980 | 12 | 5,647 |
| 1981 | 14 | 5,059 |
| 1982 | 12 | 5,660 |
| 1983 | 7 | 8,338 |
| 1984 | 5 | 10,995 |
| 1985 | 12 | 5,780 |
| 1986 | 9 | 7,332 |
| 1987 | 8 | 8,257 |
| 1988 | 9 | 7,935 |
| 1989 | 6 | 11,333 |
| 1992 | 7 | 10,885 |
| 2004 | 6 | 14,814 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 256 | 841 |
| 2012 | 261 | 836 |
| 2013 | 234 | 892 |
| 2014 | 272 | 830 |
| 2015 | 283 | 809 |
| 2016 | 288 | 802 |
| 2017 | 286 | 800 |
| 2018 | 284 | 797 |
| 2019 | 279 | 815 |
| 2020 | 238 | 932 |
| 2021 | 236 | 955 |
| 2022 | 250 | 925 |
| 2023 | 253 | 914 |
| 2024 | 227 | 989 |
| 2025 | 230 | 993 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 22 | 1,158 |
| 2012 | 18 | 1,367 |
| 2013 | 14 | 1,617 |
| 2014 | 21 | 1,223 |
| 2015 | 19 | 1,327 |
| 2016 | 25 | 1,123 |
| 2017 | 34 | 906 |
| 2018 | 23 | 1,158 |
| 2019 | 25 | 1,083 |
| 2020 | 26 | 1,051 |
| 2021 | 13 | 1,782 |
| 2022 | 25 | 1,104 |
| 2023 | 16 | 1,533 |
| 2024 | 29 | 1,025 |
| 2025 | 23 | 1,226 |

## In other languages

- Bulgarian: Ха́ролд
- Chinese: 哈羅德 /哈罗德
- Danish: Harald
- French: Hérault
- Georgian: ჰარალდი, ჰაროლდი
- German: Harald
- Greek: Χάρολντ, Χαρόλδος
- Irish: Aralt
- Latvian: Haralds
- Norwegian: Harald
- Russian: Га́рольд, Ха́рольд
- Spanish: Haroldo
- Swedish: Harald

## People named Harold

- Harold Pinter, British playwright (1930–2008)
- Harold Urey, American physical chemist (1893-1981)
- Harold Lloyd, American actor and comedian (1893–1971)
- Harold Bloom, American literary critic, scholar, and writer (1930–2019)
- Harold E. Varmus, American scientist
- Harold Holt, Australian politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (1908-1967)
- Harold Ramis, American actor, comedian, and filmmaker (1944–2014)
- Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, British military commander and field marshal; Governor General of Canada (1891-1969)
- Harold Perrineau, American actor
- Harold Robbins, American novelist (1916–1997)
- Harold Russell, film and television actor (1914-2002)
- Harold Laski, British academic (1893-1950)

## 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.