Harold
Boy nameHarold has been given to 554,280 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 1924 and currently ranks #993 for boys (2025).
Meaning & origin /ˈhæɹəld/
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.
Origin: Old English, Old Norse
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025
Total babies
554,280
Peak year
1924 (14,230 babies)
Rank in 2025
#993 for boys
First recorded
1880
10-year trend
▼ -19%
Gender split
0% girls / 100% boys
Famous people named Harold
Harold Pinter
British playwright (1930–2008)
Harold Wilson
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
Hal Holbrook
American actor (1925–2021)
Harold Urey
American physical chemist (1893-1981)
Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).
Names with a similar vibe
Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Harold.
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