Harlequin
A comic character in a patterned, tight-fitting costume.
Name Census estimates that about 41 living Americans carry the first name Harlequin. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Harlequin today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harlequin births was 2013 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harlequin. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Harlequin. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
41
~ 1 in 8,359,862 Americans
Peak year
2013
7 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2016 SSA rank
#15,005
Tracked since 2009
Popularity
Harlequin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harlequin from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 35 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harlequin by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Harlequin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harlequin
The given name Harlequin originates from the French word 'Harlequin', which was derived from the Italian 'Arlecchino'. The name has its roots in the commedia dell'arte theatrical tradition that emerged in Italy in the 16th century. Harlequin was one of the principal stock characters in this form of improvisational theater, known for his distinctive costume featuring a multicolored, diamond-patterned outfit and a black half-mask.
The character of Harlequin is believed to have been inspired by the mischievous and cunning servant roles from ancient Roman comedies. The name itself may be connected to the Old French term 'hellequin', which referred to a mythical, devilish figure. Some scholars also suggest links to the Germanic word 'helleken', meaning a 'little devil' or 'demon'.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Harlequin was in the play "Il Capitano" by Italian playwright Andrea Calmo, written around 1570. In this work, the character Arlecchino or Harlequin was depicted as a witty and acrobatic servant from the region of Bergamo, northern Italy.
Throughout history, the name Harlequin has been associated with several notable individuals. Battista Sarnelli (1572-1618), an Italian actor from Naples, gained fame for his portrayal of the Harlequin character on stage. Another prominent figure was Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793), an Italian playwright who popularized the Harlequin character in his works.
In the realm of literature, the name Harlequin has been used by authors like Thomas Middleton in his play "The World Tost at Tennis" (1620), and Miguel de Cervantes in his novel "Don Quixote" (1615), where a character named Harlequin appears.
In the 19th century, the name gained further recognition through the work of French artist Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), who created several paintings depicting the Harlequin figure, such as "Harlequin" (1888-1890) and "The Bather" (1885-1887).
Another notable individual associated with the name Harlequin was the French magician and film producer Georges Méliès (1861-1938), who starred in the silent film "The Merry Frolics of Satan" (1906), where he played a Harlequin character.
People
Harlequin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harlequin as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Harlequin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harlequin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harlequin going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 8,359,862 US residents.
Is Harlequin a common name?
We classify Harlequin as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 41 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harlequin most popular?
The single biggest year for Harlequin was 2013, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harlequin is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Harlequin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harlequin a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harlequin in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Harlequin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harlequin in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Harlequin can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Harlequin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Harlequin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.