Harlem: name meaning, origin & popularity
- Meaning
- “home on a wooded dune”
- Origin
- Dutch
- Say it
- HAR-lum · 2 syllables
- Used for
- Both (33% girls, 67% boys since 1880)
Taken from the place name Haarlem in the Netherlands; as a personal name it is a modern transferred use of the surname/place name.
How popular is Harlem?
Babies named Harlem in 2024397
2024 rank#1,013 boys
Peak year2023
Total US babies since 18804,795
Harlem is rising: use over the last five years is 2.5× what it was a decade earlier.
Names like Harlem
Variants, related forms and names with the same roots.
Harlem questions
What does the name Harlem mean?
Harlem means "home on a wooded dune". It comes from Dutch. Taken from the place name Haarlem in the Netherlands; as a personal name it is a modern transferred use of the surname/place name.
Is Harlem a boy or girl name?
Harlem is used for both: about 33% of US babies named Harlem since 1880 were girls.
How popular is Harlem?
397 US babies were named Harlem in 2024. Its peak year was 2023.
How do you pronounce Harlem?
Harlem is usually pronounced HAR-lum.
Birth counts: US Social Security Administration national data, 1880–2024 (names given to 5+ babies of a sex in a year). How we write meanings.