How Many People Are Named Harley?
An estimated 54,727 people in the United States have the first name Harley. It is used for both genders, with 57.1% male. The average bearer is 26 years old, and Harley peaked in popularity in 2017 with 1,932 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Harley 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 Harley paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- Harley has undergone a significant gender shift. Originally given predominantly to boys, it is now more commonly a girls' name.
- Harley is a genuinely unisex name, given to both boys and girls in roughly equal numbers.
Estimated Living Americans
54,727
About 1 in 6,263 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
57.1% confidence
Average Age
26
years old
Peak Year
2017
1,932 births
Total Registered
70,909
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Harley
Harley is a genuinely unisex name, used for both males (57.1%) and females (42.9%). Out of 70,909 total births registered, 40,499 were male and 30,410 were female.
Harley as a male name
Ranked #1,017 in 2024
218 male births in 2024
Peak: 1994 (789 births)
Harley as a female name
Ranked #397 in 2024
795 female births in 2024
Peak: 2017 (1,531 births)
Harley: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Harley span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2010s, when 14,528 babies were registered. While Harley is less common than at its peak in the 2010s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Harley by Decade
How has Harley 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 | 685 | 685 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 690 | 690 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 686 | 686 | 0 | |
| 1910s | 3,173 | 3,161 | 12 | |
| 1920s | 4,890 | 4,867 | 23 | |
| 1930s | 3,815 | 3,781 | 34 | |
| 1940s | 3,215 | 3,215 | 0 | |
| 1950s | 2,353 | 2,343 | 10 | |
| 1960s | 1,388 | 1,383 | 5 | |
| 1970s | 1,724 | 1,677 | 47 | |
| 1980s | 2,533 | 2,309 | 224 | |
| 1990s | 11,844 | 5,578 | 6,266 | |
| 2000s | 13,324 | 5,112 | 8,212 | |
| 2010s | 14,528 | 3,775 | 10,753 | |
| 2020s | 6,061 | 1,237 | 4,824 | |
Harley by State
Birth registrations for Harley span all 50 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, California, Ohio. The lowest are in Wyoming, Rhode Island, Delaware. On average, about 1,248 Harleys were registered per state.
Harley + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Harley as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Harley
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
Harley: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harley?
We estimate approximately 54,727 people named Harley 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 6,263 Americans share this first name.
Is Harley a common name?
Harley is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 70,909 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Harley most popular?
Harley reached peak popularity in 2017, when 1,932 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Harley is approximately 26 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Harley a male name?
Harley is predominantly male. 57.1% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Harley Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Harley Smith, Harley Johnson, Harley 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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