Harold
Pronounced HH EH1 R AH0 L D (ARPABET)
- 2 syllables
- Peaked 1924
- 145 years in use
- 3 spellings
How popular is Harold?
Harold is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 557,034 children — the 64th most common boys' name on record.
Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1924, when 14,228 children were given it.
Three other spellings are counted in that total — Harrold, Herald and Herold — because they are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Harold and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Harrold
- Herald
- Herold
Characteristics
- 2 syllables
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- HH EH1 R AH0 L D
- Stress pattern:
- 10
- Syllables:
- 2
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Harold
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Harold
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Harold?
- Harold ranks 64th among boys' names in US records, with 557,034 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 2,637.
- Is Harold a unisex name?
- No. Harold is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Harold most popular?
- 1924, when 14,228 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Harold spelled?
- Harrold, Herald, Herold. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.