Harald
A Scandinavian masculine name derived from the Old Norse elements meaning "army" and "ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 364 living Americans carry the first name Harald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harald today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harald births was 1925 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harald. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Harald with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
364
~ 1 in 941,633 Americans
Peak year
1925
24 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,573
Tracked since 1913
Census
Harald in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,305 people with the first name Harald, which placed it at #10,283 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,283
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,305 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
90.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harald
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harald is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Harald described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Harald at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.1% · 1,176
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 59
- Two or more races2.3% · 30
- Black or African American2.1% · 28
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 12
Popularity
Harald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harald from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 166 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harald by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Harald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haralds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Texas recorded the most babies named Harald, while Texas, New Jersey, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harald
Harald is a Germanic masculine given name derived from the Old Norse words "har" meaning "army" and "valdr" meaning "ruler" or "commander". It was a popular name among the Norse and Viking cultures, particularly in Scandinavia, during the 8th to 11th centuries.
The name Harald has its roots in the ancient Norse mythology and is associated with the god Odin, who was also known as the "Ruler of Armies". It was a name often given to Norse warriors and leaders, reflecting their strength, bravery, and leadership qualities.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Harald can be found in the Old Norse sagas and historical accounts. Harald Fairhair (c. 850 - c. 933) was a Norwegian king who is credited with uniting Norway into a single kingdom during the 9th century. Another notable Harald was Harald Hardrada (1015 - 1066), a Norwegian king who attempted to conquer England in 1066 but was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.
In the Middle Ages, the name Harald gained popularity across various European regions, including Germany, the Netherlands, and England. Harald Bluetooth (c. 935 - c. 986) was a Danish king who ruled over what is now Denmark and Norway. He is credited with introducing Christianity to Denmark and is remembered for the Bluetooth wireless technology standard named after him.
During the Renaissance period, the name Harald was used by several notable figures. Harald Sæmundsson (c. 1556 - 1638) was an Icelandic mathematician and cartographer who produced some of the earliest maps of Iceland. Harald Graun (1701 - 1759) was a German composer and singer who was a prominent figure in the Baroque era.
In more recent history, Harald Sohlberg (1869 - 1935) was a renowned Norwegian Neo-Romantic painter known for his landscape paintings, including the famous "Winter Night in the Mountains". Harald Saeverud (1897 - 1992) was a Norwegian composer and one of the leading figures in Norwegian music during the 20th century.
Overall, the name Harald has a rich historical significance and has been borne by numerous influential figures throughout the centuries, particularly in Scandinavia and Germanic regions, reflecting its strong ties to the Norse culture and mythology.
People
Harald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harald as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Harald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 364 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harald going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 941,633 US residents.
Is Harald a common name?
We classify Harald as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 793 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harald most popular?
The single biggest year for Harald was 1925, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harald is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Harald in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,305 people with the name Harald, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,283 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Harald in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Harald?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Harald appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,296 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Harald?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harald is White at 90.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Harald most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Harald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.1% (1,176 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Harald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harald in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Harald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harald in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Harald can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Harald?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.