Harold

“Army ruler” — Old English, or Old Norse origin

Boy's name · #991 in the US (2025) · Vintage

Harold has appeared in US records since 1880 — best rank #12 (1915) · 551,632 babies named Harold all-time · 1 in 7,700 boys born in 2025.

Around the world: about 1 in 3,200 boys in Belgium (2025) · about 1 in 12,000 boys in England & Wales (2025) · about 1 in 12,000 boys in Canada (2024).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 26 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Harolds

Harold Pinter — British playwright (1930–2008)
Harold Macmillan — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1957 to 1963
Harold Wilson — Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1964-1970 and 1974-1976 (1916–1995)
Harold Urey — American physical chemist (1893-1981)
Harold Godwinson — Anglo-Saxon King of England in 1066

In stories & tradition

Harold (Mr. Krabs) — SpongeBob SquarePants · The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie
Harold (Harry Osborn) — The Amazing Spider-Man · Spider-Man
Harold (Hal Jordan) — Injustice 2 · Injustice: Gods Among Us

What Harolds become

Among 3,692 notable people named Harold:

Military figures appear 2.23× more often than among typical names — e.g. Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, British military commander and field marshal; Governor General of Canada (1891-1969).

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