# Harper (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/harper/  
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 | girls |
| Origin | English |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈhɑɹpɚ/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 145,832 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 6,769 / 139,063 (95% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 17,771, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Inherited from Middle English Harpere.

## 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 | 4,676 | 54 |
| 2012 | 7,199 | 24 |
| 2013 | 8,284 | 16 |
| 2014 | 9,619 | 11 |
| 2015 | 10,311 | 10 |
| 2016 | 10,803 | 11 |
| 2017 | 10,524 | 11 |
| 2018 | 10,646 | 9 |
| 2019 | 10,497 | 9 |
| 2020 | 8,849 | 10 |
| 2021 | 8,448 | 10 |
| 2022 | 8,227 | 11 |
| 2023 | 7,799 | 11 |
| 2024 | 7,394 | 12 |
| 2025 | 6,792 | 16 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 402 | 607 |
| 2012 | 416 | 606 |
| 2013 | 366 | 662 |
| 2014 | 328 | 730 |
| 2015 | 341 | 724 |
| 2016 | 299 | 791 |
| 2017 | 286 | 801 |
| 2018 | 214 | 973 |
| 2019 | 202 | 1,029 |
| 2020 | 149 | 1,246 |
| 2021 | 149 | 1,275 |
| 2022 | 139 | 1,347 |
| 2023 | 127 | 1,435 |
| 2024 | 92 | 1,783 |
| 2025 | 77 | 1,980 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 42 | 858 |
| 2012 | 173 | 284 |
| 2013 | 322 | 160 |
| 2014 | 623 | 89 |
| 2015 | 980 | 63 |
| 2016 | 1,256 | 44 |
| 2017 | 1,608 | 34 |
| 2018 | 1,796 | 27 |
| 2019 | 1,586 | 29 |
| 2020 | 1,415 | 28 |
| 2021 | 1,480 | 26 |
| 2022 | 1,449 | 27 |
| 2023 | 1,466 | 22 |
| 2024 | 1,461 | 22 |
| 2025 | 1,367 | 23 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 24 | 1,087 |
| 2012 | 36 | 852 |
| 2013 | 37 | 821 |
| 2014 | 50 | 670 |
| 2015 | 59 | 618 |
| 2016 | 45 | 748 |
| 2017 | 51 | 684 |
| 2018 | 46 | 731 |
| 2019 | 37 | 825 |
| 2020 | 31 | 921 |
| 2021 | 32 | 939 |
| 2022 | 15 | 1,609 |
| 2023 | 23 | 1,207 |
| 2024 | 19 | 1,402 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2,952 |

## People named Harper

- Harper Lee, American novelist (1926–2016)
- Harper Williams, American basketball player (born 1971)

## 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.