Head to head · Girls' names
Harlow vs Hattie
#309 vs #334 in 2025
Harlow is a whisker ahead (#309 vs #334 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Harlow is holding its place on the charts, Hattie is back after a long quiet spell. On momentum, Hattie has the edge.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Hattie leads 4 measures of 6; Harlow leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Harlow —, Hattie #32 — Hattie higher
- 1890s: Harlow —, Hattie #45 — Hattie higher
- 1900s: Harlow —, Hattie #64 — Hattie higher
- 1910s: Harlow —, Hattie #103 — Hattie higher
- 1920s: Harlow —, Hattie #149 — Hattie higher
- 1930s: Harlow —, Hattie #182 — Hattie higher
- 1940s: Harlow —, Hattie #248 — Hattie higher
- 1950s: Harlow —, Hattie #435 — Hattie higher
- 1960s: Harlow —, Hattie #802 — Hattie higher
- 1970s: Harlow —, Hattie #1411 — Hattie higher
- 1980s: Harlow —, Hattie #1797 — Hattie higher
- 1990s: Harlow —, Hattie #1878 — Hattie higher
- 2000s: Harlow #7123, Hattie #1598 — Hattie higher
- 2010s: Harlow #495, Hattie #671 — Harlow higher
- 2020s: Harlow #277, Hattie #399 — Harlow higher
Hattie stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Harlow has held the lead since the 2010s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Harlow | Hattie |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #32 |
| 1890s | — | #45 |
| 1900s | — | #64 |
| 1910s | — | #103 |
| 1920s | — | #149 |
| 1930s | — | #182 |
| 1940s | — | #248 |
| 1950s | — | #435 |
| 1960s | — | #802 |
| 1970s | — | #1411 |
| 1980s | — | #1797 |
| 1990s | — | #1878 |
| 2000s | #7123 | #1598 |
| 2010s | #495 | #671 |
| 2020s | #277 | #399 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Harlow
from an Old English place name combining hlāw, "hill" or "burial mound", with a first element that is still argued over
The second half is not in doubt: hlāw, an Old English word for a hill or a burial mound. The first half is read two ways — either hearg, a heathen temple or shrine, giving "temple mound", or here, "army", giving "army hill". Both are serious readings of the early spellings of Harlow in Essex, and neither has won.
Herlawe (recorded Essex place name) → Harlow (English place name) → Harlow (English surname) → Harlow (given name)
How it traveled
Harlow is a place before it is a person: a settlement in Essex recorded in early medieval documents, joined later by Harlow Hill in Northumberland. Families who came from those places took the name with them, so Harlow became an English surname, and from there — as English surnames reliably do — it crossed over into use as a first name.
Hattie
Home ruler
Hattie is a pet form of Harriet, the English version of French Henriette, feminine of Henri — from the Germanic elements heim, 'home,' and ric, 'ruler.'
Heimirich → Henri → Henriette → Harriet → Hattie
How it traveled
The root is Germanic: Heimirich, 'home ruler,' which traveled into France as Henri and gave the feminine Henriette. English speakers reshaped Henriette into Harriet in the seventeenth century, and Harriet, like most well-used names, promptly acquired nicknames — Hatty and Hattie among them, formed by the same sound-swap that produced Hal from Harry.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Harlow
HAR-loh
Two syllables, stress on the first: HAR as in "car", then "low". English speakers read it correctly on sight, and it survives the trip into most other languages without much damage.
- Lo — The most common informal short form; used at home rather than on paper.
- Harls — Playground and family shortening, informal only.
- Har — Heard occasionally as a casual clip among friends.
Hattie
HAT-ee
Stress on the first syllable. In most American speech the middle t softens to a d-like tap, so it lands close to HAD-ee — that is normal, not a mispronunciation.
- Hat — The obvious clipping, used inside families rather than formally.
- Hetty — An older sister-nickname from the same Harriet–Henrietta family; also stands alone as a given name.
- Etta — Reached from the longer Henrietta rather than from Hattie itself; independently used as a full name.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Harlow if you want…
- a name most people already know#309 in 2025, 981 babies that year
- a name holding steadyHarlow is holding its place on the charts
- a newer arrivalHarlow entered the US charts in 2002
Choose Hattie if you want…
- a name fewer children share#334 in 2025 — hattie will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name on the way upup 87 places on the charts in five years
- a long American recordHattie was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Harlow
Strengths
- Reads exactly as it is spelled — most people get both the pronunciation and the spelling right on the first attempt.
- Already familiar as an English surname and place name, so it looks like a real word rather than an invention.
- Two syllables with the stress up front, which sits easily beside most one- and three-syllable middle names.
To consider
- Both boys and girls carry this spelling, but girls are the clear majority in American records. A boy named Harlow will meet forms and teachers that assume otherwise — manageable, but worth knowing in advance.
- Harlowe is a real alternative spelling, so expect to confirm which one you mean. Harley is close enough in sound that it will be substituted sometimes too.
- The surname carries a strong Hollywood association through the actress Jean Harlow, which some families like and others would rather avoid.
Hattie
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds, and short enough that a child can write it early; almost no one asks for it to be repeated.
- Comes with a ready-made formal option: parents who want a longer name on the certificate can use Harriet and call her Hattie.
- Sits in a documented line running back through Harriet and Henriette to Germanic Heimirich — a long, unbroken record.
To consider
- It is strongly represented among the oldest generations, so some people will hear it as a name from far back rather than a new one. That is precisely the appeal for many parents, but expect the occasional "that was my great-aunt's name."
- People will often assume it is short for Harriet and ask, or quietly write Harriet down. Worth deciding in advance which name you want on official forms.
- The sound sits in a very busy neighborhood — Sadie, Maisie, Millie, Hazel — so while the spelling is uncommon, the rhythm will feel familiar to anyone in a playground.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Harlow and Hattie in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Harlow and Hattie?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Harlow and Hattie — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Harlow or Hattie — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Harlow or Hattie?
- Harlow, in 2025: Harlow ranked #309 with 981 babies; Hattie ranked #334 with 923 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Harlow or Hattie?
- Hattie. Over the last five years Harlow moved up 15 places; Hattie moved up 87 places.
- Which is the older name, Harlow or Hattie?
- Harlow entered the US charts in 2002; Hattie was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Hattie is the older name.
- How many people are named Harlow and Hattie?
- About 14,000 people named Harlow are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 26,500 people named Hattie are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Harlows or Hatties in the classroom?
- Harlow will almost certainly be the only one in school. Hattie will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Harlow, Hattie and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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