NameCensus.

UK name, mostly boys

Harris

A Germanic masculine name derived from Old Norse meaning "Home Ruler".

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.

Harris is mostly registered for boys in the UK records. People looking for Harris popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2024 in this profile. In that release it ranked #338, with 129 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2015, with 186 births.

This profile covers 3,545 England and Wales registrations across 29 recorded years from 1996 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 69% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.

We estimate that about 8,253 living people in the UK are called Harris. 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

  • Harris ranked #338 for boys in England and Wales in 2024, with 129 registrations.
  • The name peaked in 2015, when 186 boys were registered as Harris.
  • Harris ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #9 in 2024.
  • About 8,253 living people in the UK are estimated to have Harris as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
  • Across the England and Wales records shown here, 99.9% of Harris registrations are for boys.

Latest rank (E&W)

#338

2024

Births in 2024

129

Latest year

Peak year

2015

186 births

Estimated living

8,253

2026

Gender

Boy and girl registrations for Harris

In England and Wales birth records, Harris has been registered for both boys and girls. Across the years shown here, 99.9% of registrations are for boys and 0.1% 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.

100% boys
Boys3,545 (99.9%)Girls3 (0.1%)

Harris registered for boys

  • Ranked #338 in 2024
  • 129 boys registered in 2024
  • Peak: 2015 (186 births)

Harris registered for girls

  • Ranked #3,824 in 1997
  • 3 girls registered in 1997
  • Peak: 1997 (3 births)

Meaning

What does Harris mean?

The name Harris is derived from the Old English word "Hæres", which means "he that dwells on the boundary". This name has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, dating back to the 5th to 11th centuries AD.

Harris was originally a surname, but it eventually transitioned into a given name as well. The earliest recorded use of Harris as a first name can be traced back to the 16th century in England.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Harris was Harris Hampson, an English politician who lived from 1589 to 1661. He served as a Member of Parliament for Shrewsbury during the English Civil War.

Another historical figure with the name Harris was Harris Petrie, a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who lived from 1768 to 1842. He made significant contributions to the field of celestial mechanics and was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1819.

In the 19th century, Harris Moore was a prominent American educator and abolitionist, born in 1812. He was a co-founder of the Pennsylvania Freedmen's Relief Association, which provided aid to former slaves during the American Civil War.

A famous literary figure with the name Harris was Joel Chandler Harris, an American journalist, novelist, and folklorist, born in 1848. He is best known for his collection of Uncle Remus stories, which preserved and popularized the African-American folklore of the Southern United States.

In the field of sports, Harris Rivington was a notable English cricketer who played for the Marylebone Cricket Club in the early 19th century. He was born in 1787 and played first-class cricket from 1806 to 1828.

While the name Harris has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, it has since been adopted and used in various cultures and regions around the world, transcending its historical roots.

Sourced from namecensus.com.

Popularity

Harris over time

The chart below compares boys and girls registered as Harris in England and Wales, from 1996 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 Harris, the clearest high point is 2015. The latest England and Wales figure is 129 births in 2024, compared with 186 at the peak.

Babies born per year

BoysGirls
04793140186199620102024

Decades

Harris by decade

Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Harris 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 #342 651 5
2010s #297 1,598 10
2000s #308 1,088 10
1990s #412 208 4

Geography

Where Harris is most common

The bars show the latest published local birth counts for Harris. 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.

Harris ranks best in Scotland in the latest published regional snapshot for that area, where it placed #9 in 2024.

Scotland
243
Northern Ireland
4

Across the UK

Harris in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland (NRS)

#9 in 2024

36 years of NRS records, 4,690 total registered

Northern Ireland (NISRA)

#339 in 2024

13 years of NISRA records, 71 total registered

Notable bearers

Famous people named Harris

  • Harris Dickinson

    actor; film director; television actor

    British actor

    1996-

  • Harris Boyle

    Northern Irish loyalist

    1953-1975

  • Harris Mann

    engineer; car designer

    British car designer (1938–2023)

    1938-2023

  • Harris Julian Gaster Bloom

    radiologist

    b.30 June 1923 d.21 December 1988

    1923-1988

  • Harris Booth

    military flight engineer

    aerospace engineer

    1884-1943

  • Harris Kirkland Handasyde

    chess player

    Scottish chess player

    1877-1935

  • Harris Rackham

    translator; university teacher; classical philologist

    British classical philologist (1868-1944)

    1868-1944

  • Harris Weinstock

    businessperson

    American businessman (1854–1922)

    1854-1922

Related

Names similar to Harris

FAQ

Harris: questions and answers

How popular is the name Harris in the UK right now?

In 2024, Harris was ranked #338 for boys in England and Wales, with 129 births registered.

When was Harris most popular?

The peak year on record was 2015, with 186 babies registered as Harris in England and Wales.

What is the meaning and origin of Harris?

A Germanic masculine name derived from Old Norse meaning "Home Ruler".

How many people are called Harris in the UK?

A total of 3,545 babies have been registered as Harris across the 29 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here, plus 4,690 more in Scotland and 71 in Northern Ireland.

Where is Harris most common?

In the latest published local rankings, Harris ranks best in Scotland, where it placed #9 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.