Harriot
A feminine variant of Henry, derived from Germanic elements meaning "estate ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Harriot. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Harriot today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harriot births was 1916 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harriot. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Harriot with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Harriot is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Harriots were born before 1961.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Harriot. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1916
6 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1947 SSA rank
#5,628
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Harriot: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Harriot from the 1910s through to the 1940s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 6 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
Harriot 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 Harriot 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 Harriot
The name Harriot has its origins in the medieval English form of the name Harriet, which was derived from the French name Henriette. The French name was a feminine diminutive form of the name Henri, which ultimately traced its roots back to the Germanic name Heimrich, meaning "home ruler."
The earliest recorded use of the name Harriot can be found in English records from the 16th century. One of the first notable individuals with this name was Harriot Arundell Talmash, an English noblewoman who lived in the late 17th century. She was the wife of Thomas Talmash, a member of parliament and lieutenant-general in the British Army during the reign of King William III.
In the realm of science, Thomas Harriot (c. 1560-1621) was an English astronomer, mathematician, and translator who made significant contributions to the development of algebra. He was among the first European astronomers to observe sunspots and is credited with introducing the symbols for greater than (>) and less than (<) in mathematical notation.
Another historical figure with the name Harriot was Harriot Beauclerk (1679-1720), an English courtier and mistress of King James II of England. She was born to Charles Beauclerk, Duke of St. Albans, and his wife Eleanor.
In the literary world, Harriot Steuart (1759-1786) was a Scottish poet and novelist who is best known for her novel "The Memoirs of a Family in Swisserland" (1783). She was part of the Scottish Enlightenment and associated with literary figures such as Robert Burns.
Lastly, Harriot Georgiana Mundy (1828-1886) was an English author and editor who wrote several books on travel and history, including "Reminiscences of an Old Bohemian" (1887) and "A Travelling Governess" (1891).
The name Harriot, while not as common as its variants Harriet and Henrietta, has a rich history spanning several centuries and encompassing individuals from various fields, including nobility, science, literature, and royalty.
People
Harriot + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harriot 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
Harriot: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harriot?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harriot 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Harriot a common name?
We classify Harriot as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harriot most popular?
The single biggest year for Harriot was 1916, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harriot is about 75 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 Harriot in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harriot a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harriot 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 Harriot still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harriot 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 Harriot 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 named Harriot?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Harriot at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.