Harlei
A feminine diminutive of Harley, it is an English name of Old English origin meaning "from the hare meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 432 living Americans carry the first name Harlei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Harlei today is around 11 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harlei births was 2018 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harlei. 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 Harlei with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
432
~ 1 in 793,413 Americans
Peak year
2018
36 babies that year
Average age
11
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,186
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Harlei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harlei from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 206 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Harlei remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harlei 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 Harlei during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Harleis live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Harlei, while North Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 6 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harlei
The given name Harlei is believed to have its origins in Old English, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "here" and "leah," which together translate to "army meadow" or "military clearing." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a meadow or clearing used by soldiers or warriors.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Harlei can be traced back to the 9th century, where it appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, an annual record of important events in early medieval England. In this text, a person named Harlei is mentioned as having participated in a battle against Danish invaders.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Harlei remained relatively uncommon, but it did gain some notability during the 12th century. One of the earliest notable bearers of the name was Harlei of Winchester, a monk and scholar who lived from 1110 to 1173. He is known for his contributions to the field of astronomy and his work in translating ancient Greek texts into Latin.
In the 14th century, a knight named Harlei de Montfort gained fame for his military exploits during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. He fought alongside King Edward III and was present at several crucial battles, including the Battle of Crécy in 1346.
Moving into the Renaissance period, a notable figure named Harlei Wycliffe (1484-1556) made a name for himself as a Protestant reformer and Bible translator. He played a significant role in the spread of the Reformation movement in England and is credited with producing one of the earliest English translations of the Bible.
Another prominent individual named Harlei was Harlei Bacon (1561-1626), an English philosopher, statesman, and author. He is widely regarded as one of the pioneers of the scientific revolution and is known for his writings on empiricism and the importance of observation and experimentation in the pursuit of knowledge.
While the name Harlei has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of English naming traditions, with its roots stretching back to the Anglo-Saxon era and its historical connections to notable figures across various fields.
People
Harlei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harlei 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
Harlei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harlei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 432 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harlei 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 793,413 US residents.
Is Harlei a common name?
We classify Harlei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 436 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harlei most popular?
The single biggest year for Harlei was 2018, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harlei is about 11 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Harlei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harlei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harlei in the SSA data are female. 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 Harlei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harlei 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 Harlei 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Harlei?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Harlei on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.