Harlem

#1,458 for girls in 2025, 147 births · #970 for boys in 2025, 236 births
Given to boys 66.3% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
2020 · 248 births
Debut · boys
5 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
3,437
since 1975

Harlem over time

girlsboys

Rank within each sex, plotted together. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020202017girlsat peakboysat peak
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#1,458147#970236
2024#1,302177#1,013220
2023#1,439155#911254
2022#1,638129#956237
2021#1,498141#943240
2020#1,373158#905248
2019#1,598133#908242
2018#1,968100#984210
2017#1,964101#1,104176
2016#2,09393#1,073184
2015#2,12390#1,006203
2014#2,53570#1,022199
2013#3,00555#1,135160
2012#3,64443#1,62695
2011#4,91528#1,68788
2010#4,60831#1,552103
2009#3,87040#1,76286
2008#7,40817#1,98171
2007#8,52014#2,47351
2006#13,6067#2,34853
2005—#3,09133
2004#16,0995#4,26420
2003#13,8446#6,25811
2002—#8,4567
2001——
2000#15,0315#10,3495
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1975—#5,4645
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First appearance
1975

The first year at least five boys were named Harlem! It came in at #5,464, and was given to 5 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1975–2001, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

Where Harlem is popular in 2017

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedAKMaine: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedMEVermont: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedNHWashington: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedWAIdaho: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedIDMontana: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedMTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedNDMinnesota: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedMNIllinois: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedILWisconsin: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedWIMichigan: #752 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 5,158 boysMINew York: #1,430 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 13,936 boysNYMassachusetts: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedMARhode Island: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedRIOregon: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedORNevada: #502 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 2,623 boysNVWyoming: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedSDIowa: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedIAIndiana: #915 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 6,890 boysINOhio: #840 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 6,484 boysOHPennsylvania: #856 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 7,276 boysPANew Jersey: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedNJConnecticut: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedCTCalifornia: #1,225 for boys · 16 births · 1 in 13,482 boysCAUtah: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedUTColorado: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedCONebraska: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedNEMissouri: #622 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 3,825 boysMOKentucky: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedWVVirginia: #550 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 3,396 boysVAMaryland: #675 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 4,418 boysMDDelaware: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedDEArizona: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedAZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedNMKansas: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedKSArkansas: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedARTennessee: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedTNNorth Carolina: #1,140 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 10,265 boysNCSouth Carolina: #671 for boys · 5 births · 1 in 4,200 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedDCOklahoma: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedOKLouisiana: #386 for boys · 13 births · 1 in 1,835 boysLAMississippi: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedMSAlabama: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedALGeorgia: #738 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 4,881 boysGAHawaii: fewer than 5 boys named Harlem, so not publishedHITexas: #1,896 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 25,167 boysTXFlorida: #1,491 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 16,112 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Louisiana#386 · 1 in 1,835
  2. Nevada#502 · 1 in 2,623
  3. Virginia#550 · 1 in 3,396
  4. Missouri#622 · 1 in 3,825
  5. South Carolina#671 · 1 in 4,200

Best ever in a state: #228 in District of Columbia, 2014.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Louisiana#386131 in 1,835
Nevada#50251 in 2,623
Virginia#550121 in 3,396
Missouri#62281 in 3,825
South Carolina#67151 in 4,200
Maryland#67561 in 4,418
Georgia#738111 in 4,881
Michigan#75291 in 5,158
Ohio#84091 in 6,484
Pennsylvania#85681 in 7,276
Indiana#91551 in 6,890
North Carolina#1,14051 in 10,265
California#1,225161 in 13,482
New York#1,43071 in 13,936
Florida#1,49161 in 16,112
Texas#1,89671 in 25,167
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Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Harlem
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 43 spots since 2024 (#1,013 → #970)
  • 65 spots since 2020 (#905 → #970)
  • 36 spots since 2015 (#1,006 → #970)
  • Biggest jump: 120 spots in 2018 (#1,104 → #984)
  • Biggest drop: 102 spots in 2024 (#911 → #1,013)
Rise & fade · boys
45 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1975
  • Peaked 2020 at #905 (248 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 7 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 7 yrs · run 2018–2023
Share of babies · boys
1 in 6,735
  • Highest: 1 in 6,735 boys born in 2023 were named Harlem (0.01%)
  • Latest: 1 in 7,238 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
  • Its best rank, #905 in 2020, was only 1 in 6,960 (0.01%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 2010s
  • 48.3% of all boys named Harlem (1,660) were born in this decade
Girls or boys?
Flipped in 2002
  • Mostly girls until 2001, mostly boys since
all girlsall boys
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1970s5#5,464 (1975)#5,464
1980s0——
1990s0——
2000s337#1,762 (2009)#4,554
2010s1,660#908 (2019)#1,210
2020s1,435#905 (2020)#950

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Harlem in 2017

girls
#1,964
101 births · 1 in 17,094 girls
boys
#1,104
176 births · 1 in 10,517 boys

Top girls' names in 2017

  1. #1Emma19,873
  2. #2Olivia18,778
  3. #3Ava16,017
  4. #4Isabella15,263
  5. #5Sophia14,947
  6. #6Mia13,521
  7. #7Charlotte12,969
  8. #8Amelia11,870
  9. #9Evelyn10,748
  10. #10Abigail10,645
  11. #1,964Harlem101

Top boys' names in 2017

  1. #1Liam18,874
  2. #2Noah18,507
  3. #3William15,046
  4. #4James14,362
  5. #5Logan14,061
  6. #6Benjamin13,858
  7. #7Mason13,602
  8. #8Elijah13,449
  9. #9Jacob13,269
  10. #10Oliver13,224
  11. #1,104Harlem176
More about 2017

girls

1,726,461 girls got a published name in 2017; 1 in 17,094 of them was named Harlem, which outranked 89.4% of the 18,448 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.4% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Harlem
  1. #1,954Rosaleigh102
  2. #1,954Santana102
  3. #1,954Shayna102
  4. #1,964Harlem101
  5. #1,964Dasha101
  6. #1,964Divine101
  7. #1,964Jesslyn101
  8. #1,976Adalynne100
  9. #1,976Annora100
  10. #1,976Dora100

Tied with 11 names at #1,964; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2016
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,443Ensley#2,412 → #969
  2. ↑ 1,020Oaklynn#1,908 → #888
  3. ↑ 842Dream#1,667 → #825
  4. ↑ 749Oaklyn#1,425 → #676
  5. ↑ 717Melania#1,649 → #932
Fallers
  1. ↓ 263Julianne#919 → #1,182
  2. ↓ 243Milania#947 → #1,190
  3. ↓ 240Wendy#858 → #1,098
  4. ↓ 238Montserrat#808 → #1,046
  5. ↓ 224Nathaly#930 → #1,154

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,850,956 boys got a published name in 2017; 1 in 10,517 of them was named Harlem, which outranked 92.3% of the 14,262 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 8.0% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Harlem
  1. #1,100Kalvin177
  2. #1,100Shlomo177
  3. #1,100Sidney177
  4. #1,104Harlem176
  5. #1,104Cortez176
  6. #1,104Jakari176
  7. #1,107Finnian175
  8. #1,107Meir175
  9. #1,107Truman175

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 2016
Risers
  1. ↑ 497Wells#1,413 → #916
  2. ↑ 419Kairo#1,221 → #802
  3. ↑ 339Caspian#1,199 → #860
  4. ↑ 313Colson#1,049 → #736
  5. ↑ 311Kace#1,183 → #872
Fallers
  1. ↓ 415Riaan#861 → #1,276
  2. ↓ 292Chevy#980 → #1,272
  3. ↓ 245Kylo#904 → #1,149
  4. ↓ 226Braeden#993 → #1,219
  5. ↓ 194Kamdyn#809 → #1,003

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 2017 →