Boys' name · since 1907

Harlen

Harlen has 3,405 recorded births since 1907 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1936 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#2,330 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#2,337 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
3,405
born since 1907
1930s
peak decade

Harlen currently ranks #2337 among boys' names in America, with 3,405 babies recorded since 1907.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Harlen has been recorded 3,405 times among boys since 1907, currently ranked #2337 nationally and more common than 83% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1930s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1907 to 2025.

  • #2,330 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #2,337 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 3,405 born since 1907
  • 1930s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Harlen ranks #2,330 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,337 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 3,405 born since 1907, peaking in the 1930s.

#2,330 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#2,337 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
3,405
born since 1907
1930s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%83.2%
Harlen vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Above the archive median
All-time archive position

Harlen's 3,405 recorded births place it above 94.87% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

17 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

17 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Kentucky.

How Harlen compares

3,405 Top 16% higher than 84% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Harlen's all-time total is 9x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Harlen Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 3,405 369 358,536
Peak-year births 65 34 22,252

Harlen's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Harlen splits its recorded history at 1967: 42% of all births land in the more recent half, 58% in the earlier half, an evenly balanced pattern over time. The single quietest year was 1907 (5 births) -- compare that against the 1936 peak of 65 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Harlen popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1907–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1936)
65
Annual births at peak, across 119 years of records
020406080 190719231938195319681983199820132025 59

Harlen popularity over time - girls

115 total births recorded since 2014 (Harlen as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 115 births
05101520 201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 11

Harlen by decade

1930s is the heaviest window (517 births, 15% of the file).

1930s was Harlen's strongest decade.

517 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.

Harlen births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1930s at 517 births (15% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Harlen compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Harlen's total volume

Harlen vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 3.6%-59, 4%-52, 4.1%-114, 2.3%-118, 4%-135, 2.6%-140, 1.3%-58, 4%-146, 2%-69, 4.9%-111, 2.7%-108, 4.4%-33, 7.4%-111, 4.1%-145, 5.3%Harlen-119, 1.9%Harlen
Harlen vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Harlen by state

Where Harlen concentrates geographically, total births since 1907

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Harlen
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Kentucky
88 2.6%
#2 Texas
83 2.4%
#3 West Virginia
44 1.3%
#4 Minnesota
36 1.1%
#5 Illinois
29 0.9%
#6 California
21 0.6%
#7 Tennessee
21 0.6%
#8 Wisconsin
18 0.5%
Kentucky share of Harlen's total US births 2.6%
Even split

88 of 3,405 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 17 reporting states.

Harlen appears in 17 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Harlen? ▼
3,405 babies have been named Harlen since 1907. All-time, it sits at #2,330 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #2,337 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1936 with 65 births.
Where does Harlen sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Harlen ranks #2,330 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,337 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Harlen most popular? ▼
Harlen was most popular in the 1930s decade with 517 total births. The single peak year was 1936.
Where is Harlen most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Harlen are Kentucky (88 births), Texas (83 births), West Virginia (44 births).
How long has the name Harlen been used? ▼
The SSA has tracked Harlen since 1907 -- 119 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Harlen? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Harold, Harry, Harvey, Harrison, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Harlen's data

  • Harlen's usage has stayed within range of its 1930s decade-level peak (517 total births) through the 2020s (353) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
  • Kentucky records the most Harlens (88 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Kentucky names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Harlen

Nearby Names Like Harlen

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Harlen

Harold Boy
#992 551,632 births
Harry Boy
#775 423,866 births
Harvey Boy
#252 127,925 births
Harrison Boy
#116 99,138 births
Harley Boy
#1081 40,705 births

Compare Harlen side by side: Harlen vs Harold Harlen vs Harry Harlen vs Harvey

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Harlen

Merlin #2336
15,049 births · Peak 1927
Oak #2338
647 births · Peak 2023
Thompson #2335
2,725 births · Peak 2018
Rip #2339
688 births · Peak 2021
Patricio #2334
4,619 births · Peak 2009
Skye #2340
2,903 births · Peak 2000
Gregorio #2333
10,842 births · Peak 1993
Kobi #2341
1,971 births · Peak 2000

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Harlen: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1907–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Harlen draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.