U.S. first-name statistics

How common is Harold?

Harold was the #298 most frequent first name in the 2020 Census.

People with the first name Harold

186,450

About 1 in 1,778 Americans had this first name in the 2020 Census.

Measured, privacy-protected national Census count—not a total of historical baby-name records.

National rank

#298

More common than 99.4% of listed first names

Peak year

1924

14,230 SSA-recorded births

2025 births

230

#2,024 across first names

Census frequency

1 in 1,778

Across the 2020 U.S. population

Sex distribution

Reported in the 2020 Census first-name table.

99.9% male0.1% female

Demographic distribution

Aggregated race and Hispanic-origin reporting in the 2020 Census name table.

White, non-Hispanic76.9%
Black, non-Hispanic14.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native0.98%
Asian / Pacific Islander1.26%
Two or more races2.24%
Hispanic or Latino4.20%

Reading the result

Harold across two different records

The Census count answers “how many people had this name?” using a national snapshot of living residents in 2020. The SSA series answers “when was this name popular?” using Social Security card applications associated with births.

Harold reached its highest published annual SSA count in 1924, with 14,230 recorded births. In 2025, SSA recorded 230 babies with the name.

Names do not determine a person’s identity. Demographic percentages above describe national aggregates and should never be applied to an individual.

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