UK name, mostly girls
Harlow
Derived from an Old English surname meaning "rock hill" or "army hill".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2024. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Also recorded as a boys' name in the UK, with 730 boys.
Harlow is mostly registered for girls in the UK records. People looking for Harlow popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #231, with 207 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2021, with 354 births.
This profile covers 2,609 England and Wales registrations across 17 recorded years from 2008 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, NRS Scotland and NISRA Northern Ireland, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 58% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 3,042 living people in the UK are called Harlow. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2025 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Harlow ranked #231 for girls in England and Wales in 2024, with 207 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2021, when 354 girls were registered as Harlow.
- • Harlow ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #160 in 2024.
- • Harlow is also recorded for boys, but the girls side is the larger UK variant in these records.
- • About 3,042 living people in the UK are estimated to have Harlow as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
- • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 78.1% of Harlow registrations are for girls.
Latest rank (E&W)
#231
2024
Births in 2024
207
Latest year
Peak year
2021
354 births
Estimated living
3,042
2026
Gender
Boy and girl registrations for Harlow
In England and Wales birth records, Harlow has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 21.9% of registrations are for boys and 78.1% are for girls.
These figures use the sex categories in the published baby-name files. They are useful for spotting how the name is used at registration, but they are not a live measure of gender identity or everyone living with the name today.
Harlow registered for boys
- Ranked #442 in 2024
- 91 boys registered in 2024
- Peak: 2024 (91 births)
Harlow registered for girls
- Ranked #231 in 2024
- 207 girls registered in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (354 births)
Meaning
What does Harlow mean?
The name Harlow is an English given name with origins dating back to the Anglo-Saxon era. It is derived from the Old English words "hær" meaning "rock, stone" and "hlāw" meaning "hill, mound." Together, these elements suggest the name Harlow may have been used to describe someone who lived near a rocky hill or mound.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harlow can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of land and property ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry lists a place called "Harlow" in the county of Essex.
In the medieval period, the name Harlow was primarily associated with various locations in England, such as Harlow in Essex, Harlow Hill in Yorkshire, and Harlow Carr in North Yorkshire. These places likely took their names from the Old English words that formed the basis of the personal name.
One notable historical figure with the name Harlow was Sir Robert Harlow (1584-1654), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of King Charles I. He served as the Speaker of the House of Commons from 1629 to 1640.
Another individual of note was John Harlow (1786-1853), an American Baptist minister and educator who served as the first president of Waterville College, now known as Colby College, in Maine.
In the realm of literature, Harlow Wilcox (1900-1949) was an American author and playwright best known for his work "The Egg and I," a semi-autobiographical novel about life on a chicken farm in the Pacific Northwest.
The name Harlow also gained prominence in the 20th century with the rise of Hollywood actress Jean Harlow (1911-1937), whose birth name was Harlean Harlow Carpenter. She was a leading sex symbol and one of the most popular actresses of the 1930s, known for her platinum blonde hair and distinctive voice.
Another notable figure was Harlow Shapley (1885-1972), an American astronomer and mathematician who played a crucial role in establishing the scale of the Milky Way galaxy and the existence of other galaxies beyond the Milky Way.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Harlow over time
The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Harlow in England and Wales, from 2008 to 2024. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Harlow, the clearest high point is 2021. The latest England and Wales figure is 207 births in 2024, compared with 354 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harlow by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Harlow was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #175 | 1,468 | 5 |
| 2010s | #562 | 1,112 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2554 | 29 | 2 |
Geography
Where Harlow is most common
The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Harlow. They are useful for spotting where the name is showing up in real numbers, while the rank beside each bar shows how strongly it performs inside that region.
Harlow ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #160 in 2024.
Across the UK
Harlow in Scotland and Northern Ireland
Scotland (NRS)
#160 in 2024
15 years of NRS records, 384 total registered
Northern Ireland (NISRA)
#288 in 2024
7 years of NISRA records, 62 total registered
Related
Names similar to Harlow
- Hannah 67,635
- Holly 52,307
- Harriet 24,781
- Hollie 17,902
- Harper 15,784
- Heidi 12,675
- Hallie 9,873
- Hope 9,414
- Hayley 5,968
- Hazel 5,954
- Hanna 5,735
- Heather 5,497
FAQ
Harlow: questions and answers
How popular is the name Harlow in the UK right now?
In 2024, Harlow was ranked #231 for girls in England and Wales, with 207 births registered.
When was Harlow most popular?
The peak year on record was 2021, with 354 babies registered as Harlow in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Harlow?
Derived from an Old English surname meaning "rock hill" or "army hill".
How many people are called Harlow in the UK?
A total of 2,609 babies have been registered as Harlow across the 17 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 384 more in Scotland and 62 in Northern Ireland.
Where is Harlow most common?
In the latest published local rankings, Harlow ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #160 in 2024. The regional bars on this page use birth counts, so they also reflect the size of each region.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.