Harper
An occupational surname for a harp player.
Popularity, 1880–2025
A musician surname made literary by To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee; the Beckhams' 2011 baby announcement lit the fuse.
Harper first shows up in the national records in 1881. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 2011 to 2025. It spent 5 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 2016, when 10,803 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 11 nationally. Its best ranking came in 2018, at No. 9. In 2025 it ranked No. 16 for girls. All told, 145,832 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Explore Harper interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 45 | No. 5776 |
| 1980s | 82 | No. 5348 |
| 1990s | 563 | No. 1503 |
| 2000s | 5,671 | No. 173 |
| 2010s | 85,193 | No. 9 |
| 2020s | 47,509 | No. 10 |
Births and rank shown for girls, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.