Harlem
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- HAR-lem
- Origin
- Germanic
- UK rank, 2025
- #1,771 for boys
- US rank, 2025
- #970 for boys
Harlem is a boys' name of Germanic origin. In 2025 it ranked 1,771st for boys in the UK (15 babies) and 970th for boys in the US (236 babies).
What does Harlem mean?
Germanic: Dutch place name, via New York
From the New York neighbourhood, which Dutch settlers named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands.
Is Harlem a girl's or a boy's name?
Harlem is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 15 boys in the UK and 147 girls and 236 boys in the US.
How popular is Harlem in the UK?
- Rank in 2025
- #1,771among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 15about 1 in 20,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadydown 23% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 15 boys in the UK were named Harlem, making it the 1,771st most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,356th. Its busiest year was 2020, with 20 boys.
Half of all the boys named Harlem in the UK since 1996 were born between 2011 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Among boys in 2025, it was 1,703rd in England and Wales.
Harlem in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15 | #1,771 |
| 2024 | 13 | #1,917 |
| 2023 | 13 | #1,917 |
| 2022 | 17 | #1,561 |
| 2021 | 16 | #1,619 |
| 2020 | 20 | #1,356 |
| 2019 | 15 | #1,683 |
| 2018 | 18 | #1,486 |
| 2017 | 18 | #1,490 |
| 2016 | 16 | #1,655 |
| 2015 | 16 | #1,612 |
| 2014 | 12 | #1,929 |
| 2013 | 14 | #1,715 |
| 2012 | 13 | #1,850 |
| 2011 | 15 | #1,619 |
| 2010 | 14 | #1,724 |
| 2009 | 14 | #1,674 |
| 2008 | 8 | #2,384 |
| 2007 | 11 | #1,848 |
| 2006 | 8 | #2,193 |
| 2005 | 7 | #2,292 |
| 2004 | 5 | #2,691 |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 3 | #3,146 |
How popular is Harlem in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #970among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 236about 1 in 7,200 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 1% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 236 boys in the US were named Harlem, making it the 970th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 905th. Its busiest year was 2023, with 254 boys. It first appears in the records in 1975. 147 girls were also named Harlem in 2025 (1,458th for girls).
Half of all the boys named Harlem in the US since 1880 were born between 2014 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.
In 2025, 248 boys in the US were given Harlem or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #872, up from #970 for this spelling alone.
- Harlem 236
- Harlym 12
Girls were 12% of the babies named Harlem in the US in 2006, and 38% in 2025.
Harlem in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 236 | #970 |
| 2024 | 220 | #1,013 |
| 2023 | 254 | #911 |
| 2022 | 237 | #956 |
| 2021 | 240 | #943 |
| 2020 | 248 | #905 |
| 2019 | 242 | #908 |
| 2018 | 210 | #984 |
| 2017 | 176 | #1,104 |
| 2016 | 184 | #1,073 |
| 2015 | 203 | #1,006 |
| 2014 | 199 | #1,022 |
| 2013 | 160 | #1,135 |
| 2012 | 95 | #1,625 |
| 2011 | 88 | #1,687 |
| 2010 | 103 | #1,552 |
| 2009 | 86 | #1,761 |
| 2008 | 71 | #1,980 |
| 2007 | 51 | #2,473 |
| 2006 | 53 | #2,347 |
| 2005 | 33 | #3,087 |
| 2004 | 20 | #4,259 |
| 2003 | 11 | #6,251 |
| 2002 | 7 | #8,449 |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 5 | #10,341 |
| 1999 | 0 | – |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 0 | – |
| 1996 | 0 | – |
| 1995 | 0 | – |
| 1994 | 0 | – |
| 1993 | 0 | – |
| 1992 | 0 | – |
| 1991 | 0 | – |
| 1990 | 0 | – |
| 1989 | 0 | – |
| 1988 | 0 | – |
| 1987 | 0 | – |
| 1986 | 0 | – |
| 1985 | 0 | – |
| 1984 | 0 | – |
| 1983 | 0 | – |
| 1982 | 0 | – |
| 1981 | 0 | – |
| 1980 | 0 | – |
| 1979 | 0 | – |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 5 | #5,462 |
Names like Harlem
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Albie Hudson Enzo Theo Milo Jaxon Hugo Jenson Oakley Marley Archer Alfie
Other spellings of Harlem
More Germanic names
Amelia Liam Henry Charlotte William Archie Charlie Emma Freddie Ella Harry Millie Matilda Louie Miles Alice
Sources
Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Harlem: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/harlem, updated 20 October 2026.