Harper
Masculine · “harp player”
Harper is given to both — 6,769 boys and 139,063 girls since 1880. See Harper as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Harper is one who plays the harp, and the instrument is old enough in English that the occupational surname is among the earliest recorded.
How old is the name Harper?
Harper first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Harper alive today was born around 2011, making them about 14 years old. About 6,000 people named Harper are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Harper most popular?
Harper peaked in 1881, reaching #595 nationally. Today it ranks #1976, 1,381 places below that high. See the whole 1881 chart.
Where it comes from
From hearpe to Harper
The story of Harper
The harper was a fixture of medieval and Gaelic households; Irish and Welsh courts kept them by right, and the harp is Ireland's national emblem. The surname entered American given-name use for boys and, from 2011, overwhelmingly for girls. Masculine Harper appears in the registers and is in current use.
Meaning
harp player
From the Old English hearpere, 'harper', from hearpe, 'harp'. It was an occupational surname and also named a household office — a lord's harper was a real post. The word is ordinary and the meaning undisputed.
How the name formed
- hearpe
- hearpere
- Harper
Related forms: Harpur · Harfner
Pronouncing Harper
HAR-pur
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically in every English accent.
Nicknames for Harper
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most boys named
- 2011402 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #595reached in 1881
- Change vs 2022
- −44.6%77 in 2025, from 139
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Harper in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Harpur in English — spelling variant
- Harfner in German — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Georgia.
Harpers among us
people named Harper are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 22,183 born in 2025 was named Harper
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Harper sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Harper is headed
Harper is easing off slowly — about 25% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Harper beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Harper in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is concrete and records a real medieval household office.
- The harp is a national emblem, which few occupational names can say.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- In America the name now reads as overwhelmingly feminine.
- It reads as a surname before it reads as a given name.
- A publishing house carries the name.
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What they receive
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Harper
Masculine · #1976 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Harpers are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 6,000 people named Harper are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Harper in 2025?
- Harper ranks #1976 among US boy names in 2025, with 77 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Harper?
- About 1 in every 22,183 US boys born in 2025 was named Harper — 77 in all.
- Will my child share the name Harper with classmates?
- Harper will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Harper
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Winter#1976 · Donte#1976 · Jacobo#1976 · Khyree#1976 · Kru#1976 · Jaleel#1976 · Arrow#1976 · Davon#1976
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Harper? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Harper and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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