Find out how popular the last name Harlem is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Harlem.

Harlem, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Harlem surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Harlem in America

Harlem is the 129047th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Harlem surname appeared 132 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Harlem.

We can also compare 2010 data for Harlem to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Harlem

The surname HARLEM originated in the Netherlands, specifically in the province of North Holland, during the medieval period around the 13th century. It is believed to have derived from the place name "Haarlem," a city located in the western part of the Netherlands.

The name "Haarlem" itself is thought to have originated from the Old Dutch words "haar," meaning "sandy ground," and "lem," which could refer to a water meadow or a wooded area. This suggests that the name HARLEM may have initially referred to individuals who lived in or near the sandy or wooded regions surrounding the city of Haarlem.

One of the earliest known references to the surname HARLEM can be found in the "Oorkondenboek van Holland en Zeeland" (Charter Book of Holland and Zeeland), a collection of historical documents from the 13th century. This record mentions a person named "Willelmus de Haarlem" (William of Haarlem) in the year 1279.

In the 14th century, the surname HARLEM appeared in various historical records, such as the "Leenaktenboeken van Holland" (Feudal Records of Holland). One notable individual bearing this name was Jan van Harlem, a Dutch painter and manuscript illuminator who lived between 1350 and 1420.

During the Renaissance period, the HARLEM surname gained further recognition with the presence of Dirck Volkertszoon Coornhert (1522-1590), a renowned Dutch writer, philosopher, and theologian. Coornhert was born in Amsterdam but later adopted the surname HARLEM, likely due to his family's origins in the city of Haarlem.

In the 17th century, the HARLEM surname was associated with the famous Dutch painter, Frans Hals (1582/83-1666), who was born in Antwerp but spent most of his life in Haarlem, where he gained recognition for his portraits and genre scenes.

Another notable individual with the HARLEM surname was Pieter Jansz Saenredam (1597-1665), a Dutch painter and printmaker renowned for his architectural paintings and etchings, particularly of churches in Haarlem and other Dutch cities.

Throughout history, the HARLEM surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as "Haerlem," "Hairlem," and "Harlem," reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic changes over time. However, the connection to the city of Haarlem and its geographical location has remained a consistent theme in the etymology of this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Harlem

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Harlem.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Harlem was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Harlem has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Harlem was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Harlem, please contact us.

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