Harriet
Harriet was given to 226 girls in 2025, #1,073 among girls’ names; 90,427 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 23,600 Americans named Harriet and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (26% of everyone recorded); the median is 75 years old and half are between 62 and 83.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Harriet by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Harriet mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Harriet is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “Henry” (Henri).
Anglicized form of French Henriette, feminine form of Henri (“Henry”), popular in England in the 18th and 19th centuries.
/ˈhæɹiɛt/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Harriet?
#1,073 among girls’ names, 2025
Harriet rose from #1,307 in 2015 to #1,073 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 0.10 to 0.14 per 1,000.
2,395 babies in 1921, the peak
Harriet peaked in 1921, when 2,395 babies were given it (2,389 girls, #114 among girls’ names). The 226 births of 2025 are 9% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 226 | #1,073 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 210 | #1,151 | 0.13 |
| 2023 | 215 | #1,131 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 218 | #1,129 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 239 | #1,056 | 0.15 |
| 2020 | 230 | #1,076 | 0.14 |
| 2019 | 261 | #991 | 0.16 |
| 2018 | 248 | #1,040 | 0.15 |
| 2017 | 211 | #1,169 | 0.12 |
| 2016 | 175 | #1,356 | 0.10 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 182 | #1,307 | 0.10 |
| 2014 | 132 | #1,627 | 0.07 |
| 2013 | 129 | #1,649 | 0.07 |
| 2012 | 89 | #2,136 | 0.05 |
| 2011 | 87 | #2,178 | 0.05 |
| 2010 | 56 | #3,019 | 0.03 |
| 2009 | 55 | #3,105 | 0.03 |
| 2008 | 36 | #4,303 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 61 | #2,944 | 0.03 |
| 2006 | 61 | #2,865 | 0.03 |
| 2005 | 44 | #3,420 | 0.02 |
| 2004 | 31 | #4,423 | 0.02 |
| 2003 | 43 | #3,374 | 0.02 |
| 2002 | 38 | #3,539 | 0.02 |
| 2001 | 43 | #3,212 | 0.02 |
| 2000 | 37 | #3,541 | 0.02 |
| 1999 | 34 | #3,590 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 46 | #2,857 | 0.03 |
| 1997 | 30 | #3,741 | 0.02 |
| 1996 | 35 | #3,313 | 0.02 |
| 1995 | 36 | #3,166 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 30 | #3,641 | 0.02 |
| 1993 | 27 | #3,905 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 42 | #2,836 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 30 | #3,559 | 0.02 |
| 1990 | 35 | #3,172 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 42 | #2,676 | 0.02 |
| 1988 | 31 | #3,176 | 0.02 |
| 1987 | 38 | #2,623 | 0.02 |
| 1986 | 41 | #2,429 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 46 | #2,231 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 40 | #2,392 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 47 | #2,107 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 61 | #1,792 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 50 | #2,066 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 57 | #1,891 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 47 | #2,123 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 60 | #1,735 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 66 | #1,615 | 0.04 |
| 1976 | 60 | #1,644 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 76 | #1,386 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 97 | #1,167 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 75 | #1,344 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 92 | #1,173 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 109 | #1,101 | 0.07 |
| 1970 | 169 | #819 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 154 | #834 | 0.09 |
| 1968 | 145 | #849 | 0.09 |
| 1967 | 227 | #636 | 0.14 |
| 1966 | 207 | #676 | 0.12 |
| 1965 | 290 | #559 | 0.16 |
| 1964 | 278 | #596 | 0.15 |
| 1963 | 351 | #518 | 0.18 |
| 1962 | 387 | #492 | 0.20 |
| 1961 | 434 | #468 | 0.22 |
| 1960 | 470 | #451 | 0.23 |
| 1959 | 513 | #418 | 0.25 |
| 1958 | 512 | #411 | 0.25 |
| 1957 | 559 | #386 | 0.27 |
| 1956 | 590 | #360 | 0.29 |
| 1955 | 693 | #327 | 0.35 |
| 1954 | 721 | #314 | 0.37 |
| 1953 | 801 | #293 | 0.43 |
| 1952 | 882 | #270 | 0.48 |
| 1951 | 924 | #251 | 0.51 |
| 1950 | 934 | #246 | 0.55 |
| 1949 | 1,102 | #225 | 0.64 |
| 1948 | 1,116 | #219 | 0.66 |
| 1947 | 1,324 | #201 | 0.75 |
| 1946 | 1,299 | #190 | 0.83 |
| 1945 | 1,175 | #176 | 0.90 |
| 1944 | 1,263 | #169 | 1.0 |
| 1943 | 1,444 | #165 | 1.0 |
| 1942 | 1,443 | #162 | 1.1 |
| 1941 | 1,396 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1940 | 1,363 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1939 | 1,390 | #156 | 1.3 |
| 1938 | 1,375 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1937 | 1,421 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1936 | 1,332 | #154 | 1.3 |
| 1935 | 1,294 | #157 | 1.2 |
| 1934 | 1,280 | #156 | 1.2 |
| 1933 | 1,236 | #152 | 1.2 |
| 1932 | 1,351 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1931 | 1,415 | #143 | 1.3 |
| 1930 | 1,598 | #138 | 1.4 |
| 1929 | 1,697 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1928 | 1,785 | #133 | 1.5 |
| 1927 | 1,965 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 1926 | 1,986 | #133 | 1.7 |
| 1925 | 2,067 | #131 | 1.7 |
| 1924 | 2,189 | #128 | 1.8 |
| 1923 | 2,198 | #122 | 1.8 |
| 1922 | 2,237 | #117 | 1.9 |
| 1921 | 2,389 | #114 | 1.9 |
| 1920 | 2,360 | #112 | 2.0 |
| 1919 | 2,168 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1918 | 2,345 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1917 | 2,203 | #104 | 2.0 |
| 1916 | 2,067 | #106 | 2.0 |
| 1915 | 1,849 | #112 | 1.9 |
| 1914 | 1,455 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1913 | 1,039 | #125 | 1.7 |
| 1912 | 1,043 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1911 | 792 | #115 | 1.9 |
| 1910 | 637 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1909 | 527 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1908 | 548 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1907 | 477 | #138 | 1.5 |
| 1906 | 497 | #127 | 1.7 |
| 1905 | 413 | #144 | 1.4 |
| 1904 | 448 | #132 | 1.6 |
| 1903 | 416 | #135 | 1.6 |
| 1902 | 399 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1901 | 414 | #123 | 1.7 |
| 1900 | 461 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 1899 | 431 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1898 | 491 | #110 | 1.9 |
| 1897 | 383 | #128 | 1.6 |
| 1896 | 437 | #111 | 1.8 |
| 1895 | 435 | #113 | 1.9 |
| 1894 | 411 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1893 | 428 | #105 | 2.0 |
| 1892 | 402 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1891 | 354 | #111 | 1.9 |
| 1890 | 399 | #102 | 2.1 |
| 1889 | 397 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1888 | 389 | #99 | 2.2 |
| 1887 | 342 | #94 | 2.3 |
| 1886 | 341 | #99 | 2.4 |
| 1885 | 342 | #89 | 2.6 |
| 1884 | 339 | #91 | 2.6 |
| 1883 | 341 | #82 | 3.0 |
| 1882 | 289 | #90 | 2.7 |
| 1881 | 270 | #85 | 2.9 |
| 1880 | 319 | #73 | 3.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Harriet a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Harriet has been given almost only to girls: 121 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Harriet: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Harriet, and how old are they?
23,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 26% of the 90,427 Americans ever recorded as Harriet. The median Harriet alive today is 75 years old; half are between 62 and 83.
The 2020 Census counted 30,360 people named Harriet (30,314 women and girls, 46 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 29,241 born in the U.S. The Census count is 4% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 7,230 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 10,300 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,770 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 613 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 783 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,660 |
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 Harriet born?
The states with the most babies named Harriet are New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois, with 34% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 12,937 | #666 | 1.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 6,968 | #1,292 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 5,279 | #1,166 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 3,496 | #908 | 0.9× |
| New Jersey | 3,268 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Minnesota | 3,234 | #517 | 1.9× |
| Michigan | 2,856 | #892 | 0.9× |
| Massachusetts | 2,667 | #929 | 1.0× |
| California | 2,541 | #1,783 | 0.7× |
| Wisconsin | 2,364 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Harriet is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Harriet is most over-represented in Hawaii: since 1910 it was given 2.5 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 girls’ 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 Harriet 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 112,053 babies since 1880, Harriet is the most given (81% of them). In 2025 it was given to 226 of their 243 babies (93%), 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 Harriet
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
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 Harriet and names like it
- Compare Harriet and HarriettBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sHarriet peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Harriet since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Harriet: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Harriet.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Harriet alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with HMost given first.