Harlow

/ˈhɑɹ.loʊ/

The name Harlow originated as an English surname and place-name, with multiple settlements of the name recorded across southern and eastern England.

US Rank

No. 293

Births

1,079

Peak Year

2021

The principal etymology traces it to the Old English here (“army”) and hlāw (“hill, mound, burial mound”), producing the reading “army hill” or “hill of the army,” suggesting a gathering place or a site of ancient fortification.

An alternative etymology connects the first element to hǣr (“rock, stony”), yielding “rocky hill.” The Domesday Book of 1086 records the Essex village of Harlow as Herlaue, and the name appears in charters from the 11th century.

What the name Harlow means

For nearly a millennium the form functioned exclusively as a surname and place-name. The Essex new town of Harlow, designated in 1947 under the New Towns Act, remains a significant urban center of around 85,000 residents.

The surname appears throughout English records, and in the Americas it became established through colonial families in New England and the Chesapeake.

The transformation of Harlow into a glamorous feminine given name rests almost entirely on Jean Harlow (1911-1937), born Harlean Carpenter in Kansas City, the platinum-blonde star of Hell’s Angels (1930), Red Dust (1932), and Dinner at Eight (1933).

Her death at age 26 from kidney failure cemented her legendary status in Hollywood memory.

The surname she adopted (her mother’s maiden name) became inseparable from the image of the Jazz Age screen siren, and the 1965 Paramount biopic Harlow with Carroll Baker revived interest.

Across the United States, Harlow as a girl’s given name was essentially absent from SSA records until 2009, when it entered the top 1000 following the birth of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden’s daughter Harlow Winter Kate Madden in 2008.

The name has climbed rapidly since, entering the top 200 by the early 2020s. The rise parallels other Hollywood-glamour surname choices such as Monroe, Garland, and Gable. Usage is strong in the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom.

Contemporary bearers include Harlow Madden, daughter of Nicole Richie; Harlow Olivia Calliope Jane, daughter of Patricia Arquette; and several other celebrity children.