Harold

Meaning: Army ruler
Origin: Old English, or Old Norse

Nicknames: Harry, Hal

Boy's name · #993 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Popularity over time

Harold is an heirloom: its strongest era came around 1915, when it ranked #12. It has thinned since but never left the records — about 552,000 boys since 1880, ranked #993 today. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.

Across the states

See where Harold is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 26 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Harold ranks in other countries and regions.

#674 in Belgium (2025) · #755 in Ecuador (2025) · #1,245 in England & Wales (2025) · #2,491 in France (2025) · #1,644 in Canada (2024).

Famous Harolds

Harold Pinter — British playwright (1930–2008)
Harold Macmillan — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963
Harold Wilson — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
Harold Urey — American physical chemist (1893–1981)
Harold Godwinson — Anglo-Saxon King of England in 1066

In stories & tradition

Harold (Harry Osborn) — Spider-Man (film)
Harold (Hal Jordan) — Injustice 2 (video game)

What Harolds become

Among 3,692 notable people named Harold:

Military figures appear 2.23× more often than among typical names — e.g. Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, British politician (1891–1969).

Spellings & nicknames

About 340 boys a year are given Harry as their full name.

Similar names: Stanley · Arnold · Ralph · Howard · Harry · Gerald

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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