Masculine dossier · first seen 1880
Harlan
Rising
Gaining cultural share
Peak era
1924
Peak births
519
Current vitality
Fragile
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about Harlan
How many people are named Harlan?
An estimated 12,343 living Americans are named Harlan.
How rare is Harlan?
Harlan is uncommon among babies today, with 454 boys receiving the name in 2025, down 12.5% from its 1924 peak.
How old is the typical Harlan?
The median age of a living American named Harlan is approximately 35 years, with most bearers falling between 9 and 66 years old.
Is Harlan still popular?
Yes — Harlan is currently rising in popularity, with 454 births in 2025. Births this decade are running about 2.1× higher than the previous decade.
Where is Harlan most common?
Harlan has its strongest geographic signal in South Dakota, where it appears 9.4× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19242025
Peak year
1924
Decline from peak
12.5%
2025
454
All-time
26,481
Where it lives now
Harlan is most concentrated in South Dakota — about 8.2× the national rate in the 1950s.
States where Harlan is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.