Harriet
Harriet is a female given name.
- English
Meaning & Origin of Harriet
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Harriet is a female given name.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
The Story of Harriet
American parents first put Harriet on the record books as a baby girl name in 1880, with 319 registered babies. Its peak popularity came in 1921, when 2,389 Harriets were born — ranking #114 that year. About 23% of every Harriet on record arrived during the 1920s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Harriet ranks #1,185 for baby girls with 202 births, gradually falling (-12%). All told, over 90K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Harriet
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Harriet. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Harriet
Phonetically similar names — useful when Harriet is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Harriet
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About the name Harriet
Harriet is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 90K births in the dataset. Harriet's peak popularity came in 1921 when it ranked #73. Use the chart and map above to compare Harriet's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1921 →
- Names of the 1920s →
- Names starting with "H" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.