US Name Trends

Harriet

English feminine form of Harry, ultimately Germanic Heinrich, “home ruler”; abolitionist Harriet Tubman is its most famous bearer.

1921peak year
No. 73best rank (1880)
90,427babies since 1880
outside top 1000 in 2025

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Harriet per year — peak 2,389▬ girls ▬ boys18801900192019401960198020002020

Harriet appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American girls in every year from 1880 to 1889. Its biggest year was 1921, when 2,389 newborn girls received the name, ranking it No. 114 nationally. Its best ranking came in 1880, at No. 73. All told, 90,427 Americans have been given the name since 1880.

Related names

Other spellings on record: Harriett (21,626), Harriette (8,740) (total births since 1880)

Other names that share a story: Harry, Hattie

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By the decade

DecadeBirthsBest rank
1880s3,369No. 73
1890s4,171No. 102
1900s4,600No. 123
1910s15,598No. 104
1920s20,873No. 112
1930s13,692No. 138
1940s12,925No. 157
1950s7,129No. 246
1960s2,943No. 451
1970s851No. 819
1980s453No. 1786
1990s345No. 2830
2000s449No. 2850
2010s1,570No. 988
2020s1,338No. 1056

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.