Harun
A masculine name of Arabic origin meaning "exalted" or "high-born".
Name Census estimates that about 970 living Americans carry the first name Harun. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harun today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harun births was 2022 (63 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harun. 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 Harun with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
970
~ 1 in 353,355 Americans
Peak year
2022
63 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,341
Tracked since 1967
Census
Harun in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,158 people with the first name Harun, which placed it at #11,204 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
#11,204
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,158 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
42.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Harun
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harun is Black at 42.2%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%). 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 Harun 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 Harun at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American42.2% · 489
- White32.7% · 379
- Asian and Pacific Islander19.4% · 225
- Two or more races3.1% · 36
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 29
Popularity
Harun: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harun from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 393 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Harun remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harun 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 Harun during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Haruns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Minnesota, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Harun, while Washington, Michigan, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 24 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harun
The name Harun has its origins in the Arabic language, derived from the root word "harr," which means "hot" or "ardent." The earliest known recorded use of this name dates back to the 7th century CE, during the Islamic Golden Age.
In Islamic tradition, Harun is considered a variant spelling of the name Aaron, which holds significant importance as it was the name of a prophet in the Abrahamic faiths. The biblical figure Aaron, the brother of Moses, is revered in Islam as a messenger of God and is mentioned numerous times in the Quran.
One of the earliest and most notable historical figures to bear this name was Harun al-Rashid, the fifth Abbasid Caliph who ruled from 786 to 809 CE. His reign is often regarded as the peak of the Islamic Golden Age, marked by scientific advancements, cultural prosperity, and the flourishing of the arts and literature.
Another prominent figure in history associated with this name was Harun al-Wathiq, an Abbasid Caliph who reigned from 842 to 847 CE. He is remembered for his patronage of scholars and his efforts to promote the translation of ancient Greek texts into Arabic.
In the realms of literature and poetry, Harun al-Rashid and his court are often featured in the iconic collection of Middle Eastern folk tales, "One Thousand and One Nights," also known as "The Arabian Nights." The character of Harun al-Rashid appears frequently, portraying him as a wise and just ruler.
Additionally, the name Harun has been borne by several scholars and intellectuals throughout Islamic history. One notable example is Harun al-Farabi, a renowned philosopher, logician, and scientist who lived from 872 to 950 CE and made significant contributions to the fields of metaphysics and logic.
Another influential figure was Harun al-Shatir, an Arab astronomer and mathematician who lived in the 14th century and is credited with developing advanced models for planetary motion and contributing to the understanding of celestial mechanics.
In more recent times, the name Harun gained popularity among Muslim communities worldwide, with many parents choosing to name their sons in honor of the historical and religious significance associated with this name.
People
Harun + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harun 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
Harun: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harun?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 970 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harun 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 353,355 US residents.
Is Harun a common name?
We classify Harun as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 982 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harun most popular?
The single biggest year for Harun was 2022, when 63 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harun is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Harun in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,158 people with the name Harun, or 0.38 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,204 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 Harun 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 Harun?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Harun appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,159 people counted with this name, 99.1% 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 Harun?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Harun is Black at 42.2%. The next largest groups are White (32.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (19.4%). 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 Harun most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Harun in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.2% (489 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 Harun in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harun a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harun 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 Harun still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harun 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 Harun 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 common is the name Harun?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.