Harman
A name derived from Old English meaning "soldier" or "warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 724 living Americans carry the first name Harman. It is a predominantly male name (94.3% of registrations). The average person named Harman today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harman births was 2008 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harman. 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.
People living today
724
~ 1 in 473,418 Americans
Peak year
2008
37 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#11,384
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Harman
Harman leans heavily male at 94.3% of total registrations, but 63 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Harman as a male name
- Ranked #11,384 in 2024
- 6 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2008 (32 births)
Harman as a female name
- Ranked #17,428 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 2002 (8 births)
Popularity
Harman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harman from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 271 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Harman 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 Harman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Harmans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Virginia recorded the most babies named Harman, while West Virginia, Virginia, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 58 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Harman
The name Harman is of Germanic origin, derived from the Old High German name "Hariman" or "Hareman," composed of the elements "hari" meaning "army" and "man" meaning "man." It was a popular name during the medieval period, particularly in regions with strong Germanic cultural influences.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harman can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Hareman" in this historical record.
In the 12th century, there was a notable figure named Harman of Arundel, an English nobleman who served as Sheriff of Sussex and was involved in the construction of Arundel Castle. His exact birth and death dates are uncertain, but he lived during the reign of King Henry II in the latter half of the 12th century.
Another significant bearer of the name was Harman Becker, a German inventor and entrepreneur born in 1815. He founded the company Becker Autoradio, which became a leading manufacturer of car audio systems. Becker's innovations played a crucial role in the development of car radio technology.
In the realm of literature, Harman Pied is a character in the 16th-century English play "The Tragedy of Piers Gaveston" by Michael Drayton. The play centers around the life of Piers Gaveston, a favorite of King Edward II, and Harman Pied is depicted as a servant or attendant to Gaveston.
One of the most notable figures with the name Harman was Harman Kardon, born in 1924 in New York City. He was an American audio equipment designer and businessman who founded the renowned Harman Kardon audio company, which became known for producing high-quality home and professional audio products.
While the name Harman has its roots in Germanic languages, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions throughout history, reflecting its longevity and enduring appeal as a given name.
People
Harman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harman 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
Harman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 724 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harman 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 473,418 US residents.
Is Harman a common name?
We classify Harman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,103 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harman most popular?
The single biggest year for Harman was 2008, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harman is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Harman a male name?
Yes, 94.3% of people registered as Harman in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.