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Harlen

#2,338 in 2025Boys' name

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Harlen has been given to 3,520 babies in the U.S. since 1907. In 2025 it ranked #2,338 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1936, with 65 recorded.

Babies named Harlen, 2025

1 in 56,200

Harlen over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
02040608018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Harlen: meaning, origin, and history

Meaning and linguistic origin unconfirmed

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Harlen means

Harlen is a given name.

The naming story behind Harlen

Wikidata records Harlen as a male given name. The entity identifier is Q106890892, and the classification was checked on 2026-10-20. The spelling matches a source label or alias exactly, without removing accents or linking it to a name merely because the letters look similar.

A database classification is different from an etymological explanation, so those questions remain open in the short meaning.

A modern root explanation needs an additional naming or linguistic reference.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 3,405 boys were recorded with the name Harlen between 1907 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 65 in 1936; its best national rank was #750 in 1936.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #2,563 in 2020 to #2,338 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #2,240 in 2015 to #2,338 in 2025.

In the United States, 115 girls were recorded with the name Harlen between 2014 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 16 in 2022; its best national rank was #7,048 in 2023.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #9,157 in 2020 to #9,079 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #17,421 in 2015 to #9,079 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

How common is Harlen?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 56,200
59 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 28,900
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#2,338
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
38,949 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Harlen sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 38,949 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Harlen. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Harlens were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Harlen was born before 1955 — so the typical Harlen is around 70 today.

Median birth year
1955
About 70 years old
Biggest decade
1930s
15.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
30.8%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,828
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1930s — 15.2% of all recorded uses (517).

Is Harlen rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
−44
Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago
+225
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
−98
Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago
0.98×
Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak
90.8%
Peak was 1936 (65)
Years since peak
89
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Shifting
15.2% average annual change
Best rank ever
#750
1936

Spellings of Harlen

Harlen is not the most common spelling — Charles is, with 65.2% against Harlen's 0.09%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Harlen is used

Across 1910–2025, Harlen was most concentrated in Kentucky — about 1 in 33,333 boys, against 1 in 211,834 across all states with data. It was least common in Ohio (1 in —).

03 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Kentucky1 in 33,333
  2. 2West Virginia1 in 33,333
  3. 3Iowa1 in 100,000
  4. 4Minnesota1 in 100,000
  5. 5North Dakota1 in 100,000
  6. 6Oklahoma1 in 100,000
  7. 7Tennessee1 in 100,000
  8. 8Texas1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Harlen has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Harlen around the world

Where Harlen ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    2004–2025
    #1,276
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    2016–2016
    #707
    in 2016
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #2,550
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1992–2012
    #771
    in 2012

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence. CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Harlen

People whose public names include Harlen, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Harlen by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#2,338
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 225
Best rank ever
#750
1936
Peak year
1936
65 that year
First recorded
1907
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
3,405
Count in 2025
59

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#9,079
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 78
Best rank ever
#7,048
2023
Peak year
2022
16 that year
First recorded
2014
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
115
Count in 2025
11

Names similar to Harlen

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

HarlemHarlowHarlinHarlonHarmonHarperHaroonHartlenHardinHarmanHarlandHardyHarisDaylenHaraldKallenHardenHartleyZaylenWaylenHarrisTaylenHardingHarun

Names with a curve like Harlen

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Harlen, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

ConleyArvinDempseyCliveBerkleyFerrisFultonJenningsWarnerLawtonMerrittCrawford

Sibling names for Harlen

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Harlen

Top names of 1936, Harlen's peak yearThe 1930s in fullOther names that peaked in 1936Boys' names starting with H