Boys' name · since 1880
Harold
Since 1880, U.S. Social Security records show 551,632 babies named Harold, peaking in 1924. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.
- #61 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #992 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 551,632
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Harold currently ranks #992 among boys' names in America, with 551,632 babies recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Harold recorded 551,632 times among boys since 1880, holding rank #992 nationally today, ahead of 93% of boys, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #61 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #992 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 551,632 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Harold ranks #61 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #992 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 551,632 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #61 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #992 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 551,632
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Harold's 551,632 recorded births place it above 99.86% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Harold compares
551,632 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Harold's all-time total is 1,495x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Harold | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 551,632 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 14,149 | 34 | 22,252 |
Harold's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Harold splits its recorded history at 1953: 21% of all births land in the more recent half, 79% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1883 (108 births) -- compare that against the 1924 peak of 14,149 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Harold popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1924)
- 14,149
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Harold popularity over time - girls
2,648 total births recorded since 1893 (Harold as girls' name)
Harold by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (133,585 births, 24% of the file).
1920s was Harold's strongest decade.
133,585 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 24% of all-time use.
Harold births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 2,001
1880s
2,001 births
- 1890s 7,018
1890s
7,018 births
- 1900s 12,795
1900s
12,795 births
- 1910s
1910s
79,721 births
- 1920s
1920s
133,585 births
- 1930s
1930s
95,467 births
- 1940s
1940s
82,176 births
- 1950s
1950s
62,183 births
- 1960s 36,744
1960s
36,744 births
- 1970s 17,587
1970s
17,587 births
- 1980s 9,183
1980s
9,183 births
- 1990s 5,518
1990s
5,518 births
- 2000s 3,472
2000s
3,472 births
- 2010s 2,748
2010s
2,748 births
- 2020s 1,434
2020s
1,434 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 133,585 births (24% of all-time use).
How Harold 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 Harold's total volume
Harold by state
Where Harold concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 46,023 | 8.3% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 34,469 | 6.2% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 30,867 | 5.6% |
| #4 | Ohio | | 30,737 | 5.6% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 23,143 | 4.2% |
| #6 | Texas | | 21,447 | 3.9% |
| #7 | California | | 20,184 | 3.7% |
| #8 | Missouri | | 18,854 | 3.4% |
46,023 of 551,632 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Harold appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Harold? ▼
Where does Harold sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Harold most popular? ▼
Where is Harold most popular? ▼
How long has the name Harold been used? ▼
What names are similar to Harold? ▼
What to do with Harold's data
- Harold's decade-level peak was the 1920s (133,585 total births); usage has since declined to 1,434 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Harolds (46,023 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Harold
Nearby Names Like Harold
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Harold
Compare Harold side by side: Harold vs Harry Harold vs Harvey Harold vs Harrison
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Harold
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Harold: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1924)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
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, 1880–2025 (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 Harold 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.