Harley
Harley is given to both girls and boys: 748 girls and 199 boys were given it in 2025 (#418 among girls’ names and #1,083 among boys’, #684 among all names counting both); 71,872 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026). Girls have outnumbered boys among babies named Harley every year since 1994.
An estimated 54,500 Americans named Harley and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (76% of everyone recorded); the median is 21 years old and half are between 10 and 31.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Harley by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Harley mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Harley is “a unisex given name transferred from the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “rock” (hær) and “hare” (hara) and “wood, clearing” (lēah).
From Old English hær (“rock”) or hara (“hare”) + lēah (“wood, clearing”). Equivalent to hare + -ley (“lea”).
/ˈhɑɹli/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Harley?
#1,083 among boys’ names, 2025
Harley fell from #654 in 2015 to #1,083 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 0.21 to 0.12 per 1,000.
1,933 babies in 2017, the peak
Harley peaked in 2017, when 1,933 babies were given it (401 boys, #647 among boys’ names). The 947 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 49% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 748 | #418 | 199 | #1,083 |
| 2024 | 797 | #396 | 219 | #1,020 |
| 2023 | 891 | #345 | 221 | #998 |
| 2022 | 981 | #329 | 253 | #916 |
| 2021 | 1,046 | #305 | 247 | #920 |
| 2020 | 1,115 | #286 | 300 | #781 |
| 2019 | 1,221 | #273 | 286 | #804 |
| 2018 | 1,415 | #223 | 300 | #775 |
| 2017 | 1,532 | #202 | 401 | #647 |
| 2016 | 1,433 | #224 | 379 | #674 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,136 | #278 | 395 | #654 |
| 2014 | 949 | #350 | 411 | #640 |
| 2013 | 878 | #359 | 403 | #616 |
| 2012 | 760 | #413 | 384 | #632 |
| 2011 | 716 | #436 | 370 | #633 |
| 2010 | 717 | #431 | 449 | #564 |
| 2009 | 764 | #419 | 465 | #568 |
| 2008 | 781 | #411 | 422 | #596 |
| 2007 | 669 | #485 | 419 | #601 |
| 2006 | 836 | #388 | 498 | #518 |
| 2005 | 842 | #375 | 487 | #505 |
| 2004 | 876 | #362 | 560 | #461 |
| 2003 | 997 | #311 | 615 | #417 |
| 2002 | 871 | #342 | 581 | #428 |
| 2001 | 820 | #365 | 529 | #458 |
| 2000 | 756 | #382 | 538 | #444 |
| 1999 | 754 | #381 | 498 | #459 |
| 1998 | 825 | #352 | 541 | #429 |
| 1997 | 700 | #379 | 566 | #409 |
| 1996 | 730 | #368 | 605 | #388 |
| 1995 | 752 | #350 | 652 | #366 |
| 1994 | 858 | #317 | 789 | #322 |
| 1993 | 718 | #356 | 728 | #342 |
| 1992 | 456 | #525 | 557 | #407 |
| 1991 | 316 | #678 | 350 | #543 |
| 1990 | 157 | #1,110 | 292 | #588 |
| 1989 | 81 | #1,687 | 269 | #595 |
| 1988 | 36 | #2,886 | 228 | #627 |
| 1987 | 14 | #5,393 | 189 | #667 |
| 1986 | 17 | #4,600 | 203 | #628 |
| 1985 | 16 | #4,704 | 226 | #582 |
| 1984 | 15 | #4,806 | 209 | #585 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,573 | 213 | #578 |
| 1982 | 12 | #5,657 | 247 | #548 |
| 1981 | 10 | #6,488 | 244 | #536 |
| 1980 | 10 | #6,452 | 281 | #508 |
| 1979 | 8 | #7,545 | 244 | #547 |
| 1978 | 7 | #7,917 | 237 | #538 |
| 1977 | 7 | #7,807 | 189 | #613 |
| 1976 | under 5 | 169 | #632 | |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,722 | 141 | #700 |
| 1974 | under 5 | 169 | #620 | |
| 1973 | under 5 | 130 | #704 | |
| 1972 | 5 | #8,724 | 135 | #689 |
| 1971 | 6 | #7,711 | 134 | #716 |
| 1970 | 6 | #7,379 | 129 | #725 |
| 1969 | under 5 | 113 | #737 | |
| 1968 | 5 | #7,400 | 123 | #679 |
| 1967 | under 5 | 125 | #669 | |
| 1966 | under 5 | 140 | #627 | |
| 1965 | under 5 | 123 | #670 | |
| 1964 | under 5 | 147 | #643 | |
| 1963 | under 5 | 134 | #677 | |
| 1962 | under 5 | 138 | #662 | |
| 1961 | under 5 | 167 | #614 | |
| 1960 | under 5 | 172 | #597 | |
| 1959 | under 5 | 177 | #586 | |
| 1958 | under 5 | 177 | #582 | |
| 1957 | under 5 | 234 | #507 | |
| 1956 | under 5 | 237 | #491 | |
| 1955 | under 5 | 225 | #489 | |
| 1954 | under 5 | 243 | #467 | |
| 1953 | 5 | #6,000 | 256 | #447 |
| 1952 | 5 | #5,878 | 272 | #419 |
| 1951 | under 5 | 257 | #424 | |
| 1950 | under 5 | 265 | #412 | |
| 1949 | under 5 | 303 | #385 | |
| 1948 | under 5 | 295 | #396 | |
| 1947 | under 5 | 336 | #374 | |
| 1946 | under 5 | 318 | #366 | |
| 1945 | under 5 | 308 | #343 | |
| 1944 | under 5 | 309 | #340 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 355 | #325 | |
| 1942 | under 5 | 319 | #341 | |
| 1941 | under 5 | 326 | #326 | |
| 1940 | under 5 | 346 | #300 | |
| 1939 | 7 | #3,580 | 333 | #305 |
| 1938 | 7 | #3,625 | 350 | #292 |
| 1937 | under 5 | 363 | #284 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 354 | #287 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 364 | #284 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 375 | #278 | |
| 1933 | 6 | #3,924 | 352 | #280 |
| 1932 | 8 | #3,405 | 396 | #275 |
| 1931 | under 5 | 440 | #259 | |
| 1930 | 6 | #4,255 | 454 | #264 |
| 1929 | under 5 | 427 | #269 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 484 | #254 | |
| 1927 | 6 | #4,514 | 456 | #267 |
| 1926 | under 5 | 492 | #253 | |
| 1925 | 8 | #3,832 | 462 | #264 |
| 1924 | 9 | #3,490 | 522 | #252 |
| 1923 | under 5 | 478 | #256 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 525 | #247 | |
| 1921 | under 5 | 537 | #242 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 484 | #250 | |
| 1919 | 6 | #4,482 | 452 | #249 |
| 1918 | under 5 | 491 | #240 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 430 | #243 | |
| 1916 | 6 | #4,122 | 454 | #234 |
| 1915 | under 5 | 434 | #229 | |
| 1914 | under 5 | 322 | #235 | |
| 1913 | under 5 | 204 | #269 | |
| 1912 | under 5 | 197 | #253 | |
| 1911 | under 5 | 88 | #279 | |
| 1910 | under 5 | 89 | #259 | |
| 1909 | under 5 | 73 | #261 | |
| 1908 | under 5 | 71 | #251 | |
| 1907 | under 5 | 75 | #238 | |
| 1906 | under 5 | 52 | #275 | |
| 1905 | under 5 | 69 | #238 | |
| 1904 | under 5 | 56 | #257 | |
| 1903 | under 5 | 65 | #226 | |
| 1902 | under 5 | 83 | #196 | |
| 1901 | under 5 | 63 | #217 | |
| 1900 | under 5 | 79 | #225 | |
| 1899 | under 5 | 59 | #220 | |
| 1898 | under 5 | 71 | #208 | |
| 1897 | under 5 | 82 | #186 | |
| 1896 | under 5 | 64 | #222 | |
| 1895 | under 5 | 68 | #209 | |
| 1894 | under 5 | 63 | #213 | |
| 1893 | under 5 | 76 | #191 | |
| 1892 | under 5 | 91 | #174 | |
| 1891 | under 5 | 64 | #195 | |
| 1890 | under 5 | 52 | #231 | |
| 1889 | under 5 | 60 | #214 | |
| 1888 | under 5 | 82 | #182 | |
| 1887 | under 5 | 77 | #164 | |
| 1886 | under 5 | 73 | #183 | |
| 1885 | under 5 | 51 | #232 | |
| 1884 | under 5 | 73 | #189 | |
| 1883 | under 5 | 63 | #188 | |
| 1882 | under 5 | 75 | #181 | |
| 1881 | under 5 | 61 | #188 | |
| 1880 | under 5 | 70 | #181 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Harley a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 71,872 Americans recorded as Harley, 43% are girls and 57% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Harley: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Harley, and how old are they?
54,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 76% of the 71,872 Americans ever recorded as Harley. The median Harley alive today is 21 years old; half are between 10 and 31.
The 2020 Census counted 43,968 people named Harley (22,351 women and girls, 21,617 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 49,727 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,190 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,770 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,360 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 9,850 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 20,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 18,000 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Harley born?
The states with the most babies named Harley are California, Texas and Florida, with 31% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 139 | #974 | 0.6× |
| Texas | 79 | #1,269 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 49 | #930 | 0.8× |
| Michigan | 38 | #939 | 1.0× |
| Ohio | 36 | #825 | 1.2× |
| New York | 28 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Arizona | 28 | #804 | 0.9× |
| Tennessee | 27 | #969 | 1.4× |
| Georgia | 27 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Missouri | 27 | #674 | 1.3× |
Where Harley is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Harley is most over-represented in West Virginia: since 1910 it was given 2.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Harley with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 2 names spelled alike, given to 74,531 babies since 1880, Harley is the most given (96% of them). In 2025 it was given to 947 of their 947 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Harley
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
| Name | Recorded | 1880-2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Ashby | 2,398 |
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Harley and names like it
- Compare Harley and HurleyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sHarley peaked in 2017.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Harley since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Harley: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2017The year the most babies were named Harley.
- The names of Generation ZMost people named Harley alive today were born 1997-2012.
- Names starting with HMost given first.