How Many People Are Named Harlan?
An estimated 14,169 people in the United States have the first name Harlan. It is predominantly male (98.3%). The average bearer is 44 years old, and Harlan peaked in popularity in 1924 with 519 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Harlan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Harlan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Harlan is overwhelmingly male, 463 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
14,169
About 1 in 24,190 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.3% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1924
519 births
Total Registered
26,489
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Harlan
Harlan is predominantly male (98.3%), though 463 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Harlan as a male name
Ranked #666 in 2024
411 male births in 2024
Peak: 1924 (519 births)
Harlan as a female name
Ranked #3,522 in 2024
44 female births in 2024
Peak: 2023 (50 births)
Harlan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Harlan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 4,184 babies were registered. While Harlan is less common than at its peak in the 1920s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Harlan by Decade
How has Harlan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 106 | 106 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 137 | 137 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 258 | 258 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 2,012 | 2,012 | 0 | |
| 1920s | 4,184 | 4,177 | 7 | |
| 1930s | 3,891 | 3,891 | 0 | |
| 1940s | 3,269 | 3,269 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 2,720 | 2,720 | 0 | |
| 1960s | 1,824 | 1,824 | 0 | |
| 1970s | 965 | 965 | 0 | |
| 1980s | 733 | 733 | 0 | |
| 1990s | 683 | 683 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 871 | 850 | 21 | |
| 2010s | 2,642 | 2,414 | 228 | |
| 2020s | 2,194 | 1,987 | 207 | |
Harlan by State
Birth registrations for Harlan span all 45 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Minnesota, Iowa, California. The lowest are in Utah, Nevada, New Hampshire. On average, about 442 Harlans were registered per state.
Harlan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Harlan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Harlan
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Harlan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harlan?
We estimate approximately 14,169 people named Harlan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 24,190 Americans share this first name.
Is Harlan a common name?
Harlan is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 26,489 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Harlan most popular?
Harlan reached peak popularity in 1924, when 519 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Harlan is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Harlan a male name?
Harlan is predominantly male. 98.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Harlan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Harlan Smith, Harlan Johnson, Harlan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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