Harold

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Harald in NO Norway, SE Sweden, DK Denmark and 1 more.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 9 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Harold is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Spanish given name408K records spelled Harold11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Colombia, France, Peru

  Languages: Spanish, French, Portuguese

  Also written Häröld, H'Arold, Hârôld, Hárold, Haröld

• a separate given name70K records spelled Harold3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Hárold, Hārôld

• German given name20K records spelled Harold88 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Germany, Austria, United States, Finland

  Languages: German, English, Finnish

  Also written Harald, Харальд, Haral'D, Харольд, Garold

• Hungarian given name6.2K records spelled Harold7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Hungary, United States, Finland, United Kingdom

  Languages: Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Härõld, Häróld, Härold, Háróld

• Thai given name5.9K records spelled Harold9 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, United States, Laos, Philippines

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written แฮโรลด์, แฮโรล์ด, แฮโรลด, Häröld, Háróld

69 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Harold is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Old English/Old Norse name from here “army” + weald “rule, power”.

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, from the personal name Haraldus etc.; first attested Haraldus, Harold, Herald, Herold, Horoldus, Haral, Heral 1066 DB

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• From an Old English personal name derived from here ‘army’ + weald ‘ruler’, reinforced before the Norman Conquest by the related Scandinavian form Haraldr, introduced by Norse settlers. The name was not common in the later Middle Ages, probably because it was associated with the unfortunate King Harold, killed at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It was used in some parts of

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, occupational name for a herald. Middle English herau(l)d (Old French herau(l)t, from a Germanic compound of the same elements as above, used as a common noun).

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

• In English, 4. Irish: this name is of direct Norse origin (see 1), but is also occasionally a variant of Harrell and Hurrell.

  as a name·Dictionary of American Family Names

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Harold Harefootb. 1016GBKing of England from 1035 to 1040
• Harold Lloydb. 1893USAmerican actor and comedian (1893–1971)
• Harold Clayton Ureyb. 1893USAmerican physical chemist (1893-1981)
• Harold Macmillanb. 1894GBPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963
• Harold Holtb. 1908AUAustralian politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (1908-1967)
• Abraham Maslowb. 1909USnot in their usual nameAmerican psychologist (1908–1970)
• Kim Philbyb. 1912GBnot in their usual nameKGB mole for the Soviet Union (1912–1988)
• Harold Wilsonb. 1916GBPrime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
• Derek Harold Richard Bartonb. 1918GBEnglish organic chemist (1918–1998)
• George Harrisonb. 1943GBnot in their usual nameEnglish musician and member of the Beatles (1943–2001)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,006 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Harold?

We estimate roughly 228 thousand people bear Harold (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Harold have the most bearers?

We estimate about 186 thousand people bear Harold in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled harold.

Where is Harold most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Harold is densest in Norway — about 1 in 448 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Harold compared with other names?

In the United States, Harold is the 154th most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Harold a male or female name?

Harold is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Harold mean?

Recorded meaning: Germanic name meaning ‘army power’; introduced to Ireland by the Norsemen as Harald.