Harver
One of an occupational surname referring to a warrior or soldier.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Harver. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Harver today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Harver births was 1920 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Harver. 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 Harver. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1920
5 babies that year
Average age
-
1920 SSA rank
#4,579
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Harver: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Harver 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 Harver during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Harver
The name Harver is an old Germanic name with origins dating back to the 5th century. It is derived from the Old High German words "haru" meaning army or warrior, and "bera" meaning bear. The name was initially used to denote a brave and fierce warrior.
In the early medieval period, the name Harver was popular among Germanic tribes such as the Franks and Saxons. It was also widely used in areas of modern-day Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of northern France. Variations of the name included Harverus, Harvir, and Harvarius.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Harver can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of medieval charters and legal documents from the 8th century. The name appears in a land grant issued by Charlemagne, the Frankish king and Holy Roman Emperor, to one of his loyal warriors named Harver.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Harver was associated with several notable figures. In the 11th century, Harver of Regensburg was a renowned scholar and author who wrote extensively on theology and philosophy. Another Harver, born in 1122, was a Benedictine monk and chronicler who documented the history of his monastery in great detail.
During the Renaissance period, the name Harver experienced a resurgence in popularity. Harver van Eyck, a Flemish painter born in 1370, was a pioneer of the Early Netherlandish painting tradition and is best known for his masterpiece, the Ghent Altarpiece. In the 16th century, Harver Grantham, an English merchant and explorer, was among the first Europeans to establish trade relations with the Mughal Empire in India.
Another notable bearer of the name was Harver Struensee, a German physician and statesman born in 1737. He served as the de facto ruler of Denmark for a brief period in the 1770s before being executed for his controversial reforms and alleged affair with Queen Caroline Matilda.
While the name Harver has fallen out of common usage in recent times, it continues to hold a significant place in history, reflecting the bravery and resilience of its bearers throughout the ages.
People
Harver + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Harver 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
Harver: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Harver?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Harver 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 - US residents.
Is Harver a common name?
We classify Harver as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Harver most popular?
The single biggest year for Harver was 1920, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Harver is about 0 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 Harver in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Harver a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Harver 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.
Is Harver still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Harver 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 Harver 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 have the name Harver?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.