UK boy's name
Haroun
Masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "highborn" or "freeman".
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.
Haroun is a boy's name in the UK records. People looking for Haroun popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #2443, with 9 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2020, with 21 births.
This profile covers 239 England and Wales registrations across 28 recorded years from 1997 to 2024. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, 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 43% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 237 living people in the UK are called Haroun. 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
- • Haroun ranked #2443 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 9 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2020, when 21 boys were registered as Haroun.
- • About 237 living people in the UK are estimated to have Haroun as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#2443
2024
Births in 2024
9
Latest year
Peak year
2020
21 births
Estimated living
237
2026
Meaning
What does Haroun mean?
The name Haroun is derived from the Arabic language and has its origins in the Middle East. It is a variant spelling of the name Harun, which is the Arabic form of the Biblical name Aaron. The name Aaron comes from the Hebrew word "Aharon" which means "high mountain" or "exalted".
Haroun is a popular name in the Islamic world, particularly in the Arab countries and regions with significant Muslim populations. It is believed to have been first used during the early days of Islam in the 7th century CE. The name gained prominence due to its association with Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid Caliph who ruled from 786 to 809 CE. He is renowned for his role in the famous collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, One Thousand and One Nights (also known as Arabian Nights).
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Haroun can be found in the Qur'an, the holy book of Islam. In the Qur'an, the name is used in reference to the Biblical figure Aaron, who was the brother of Moses and a prophet in the Abrahamic religions.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Haroun. One of the earliest was Haroun al-Rashid (763-809 CE), the Abbasid Caliph mentioned earlier, who is remembered for his patronage of the arts and literature during the Islamic Golden Age. Another famous bearer of the name was Haroun ibn Yahya (786-861 CE), a renowned mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and spherical geometry.
In the realm of literature, the name Haroun is immortalized in the novel "Haroun and the Sea of Stories" by the British author Salman Rushdie, published in 1990. The book is a work of magical realism that explores the power of storytelling and the importance of free speech.
Other notable individuals named Haroun include Haroun Tazieff (1914-1998), a French volcanologist and explorer who studied various volcanic eruptions around the world, and Haroun Rashid Dhanani (1879-1963), an influential Indian businessman and philanthropist who made significant contributions to education and healthcare in East Africa.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Haroun over time
The chart below shows babies named Haroun registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 1997 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 Haroun, the clearest high point is 2020. The latest England and Wales figure is 9 births in 2024, compared with 21 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Haroun by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Haroun 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 | #1842 | 68 | 5 |
| 2010s | #2201 | 103 | 10 |
| 2000s | #2479 | 58 | 10 |
| 1990s | #2727 | 10 | 3 |
Related
Names similar to Haroun
- Harry 141,693
- Henry 65,177
- Harrison 45,958
- Harvey 35,648
- Harley 22,095
- Hugo 18,779
- Hayden 12,622
- Hunter 10,350
- Hudson 9,104
- Hamza 8,564
- Hassan 5,982
- Hasan 3,599
FAQ
Haroun: questions and answers
How popular is the name Haroun in the UK right now?
In 2024, Haroun was ranked #2443 for boys in England and Wales, with 9 births registered.
When was Haroun most popular?
The peak year on record was 2020, with 21 babies registered as Haroun in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Haroun?
Masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "highborn" or "freeman".
How many people are called Haroun in the UK?
A total of 239 babies have been registered as Haroun across the 28 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
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.