girl's name
Harper
HAR-per
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 174,794
the United States
#16
2025 births
Harper is a name of English origin meaning "harp player." It began as an occupational surname for a musician who played the harp, an instrument central to medieval courts across England, Ireland, and Scotland, and only became common as a first name in the modern period.
- Harper is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2016, when 11,102 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 483 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Harper started out as a boys' name and is now given almost entirely to girls.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Harper over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 52 |
| 1890s | 56 |
| 1900s | 42 |
| 1910s | 158 |
| 1920s | 225 |
| 1930s | 143 |
| 1940s | 115 |
| 1950s | 105 |
| 1960s | 68 |
| 1970s | 134 |
| 1980s | 177 |
| 1990s | 800 |
| 2000s | 7,127 |
| 2010s | 88,388 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 48,242 |
What Harper means
Harper means one who plays the harp. It belongs to the family of English occupational surnames — alongside Smith, Baker, and Fletcher — that identified a person by their trade, and in this case marked out a professional court or traveling musician.
Where Harper comes from
Harper derives from the Middle English harper or harpour, an agent noun formed from harp, itself from the Old English hearpe. Harpers held real standing in medieval Britain and Ireland: a skilled player could be attached to a noble household, and in Gaelic Ireland the harper occupied a recognized position within the professional learned classes. The occupational term hardened into a hereditary surname during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries as English surnames became fixed. Its move to a given name is recent, part of a broader modern pattern of surnames crossing over into first-name use, and unusually it established itself first and most strongly for girls.
Harper in use
Harper is one of the clearest examples of a trade name outliving the trade itself by several centuries.
How popular is Harper?
In 2025, Harper was given to 6,869 babies in the United States, ranking #16 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Harper is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Harper
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Harper also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Harper over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Harper in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Other forms
- Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
- Harpar
Sibling names for Harper
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Harper — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Harper
What does the name Harper mean?
Harper means "harp player," from the medieval occupational term for a musician.
Is Harper a boy's or a girl's name?
Harper is used for both, though in recent decades it has been given far more often to girls.
Was Harper originally a surname?
Yes. It was an English occupational surname before it became a first name.
How popular is the name Harper?
In 2025, Harper was given to 6,869 babies in the United States, ranking #16 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
How many syllables are in Harper?
Harper has 2 syllables.
Is Harper a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Harper currently ranks #16 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.