boy's name
Harris
HARR-iss
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 26,241
Scotland
#9
2024 births
Harris is a boy's name of English origin meaning "son of Harry," a surname turned first name that has climbed to ninth in Scotland. It is also the name of an island in the Outer Hebrides, which is why Scotland took to it well before anywhere else did.
- Harris is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1921, when 245 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 21,253 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Harris 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 | 187 |
| 1890s | 231 |
| 1900s | 270 |
| 1910s | 1,451 |
| 1920s | 2,232 |
| 1930s | 1,629 |
| 1940s | 1,668 |
| 1950s | 1,362 |
| 1960s | 794 |
| 1970s | 649 |
| 1980s | 744 |
| 1990s | 1,167 |
| 2000s | 1,373 |
| 2010s | 1,775 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,129 |
What Harris means
Harris means son of Harry. Harry was the everyday medieval English form of Henry, from Germanic elements meaning home and ruler, so the sense reaches back to ruler of the household rather than anything in the surname itself.
Where Harris comes from
Harris began as a patronymic surname, one of a cluster — Harris, Harrison, Harries, Parry — built on Harry, which was how English speakers actually said Henry for several centuries after the Norman conquest. Henry descends from the Germanic Heimirich, from heim, home or estate, and ric, ruler or power. The surname was well established in England and Wales by the fourteenth century. Its use as a first name is recent and follows the broader surname-as-forename pattern that also produced Mason, Carter and Cooper, but Scotland has an extra reason for it: Harris is the southern part of Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides, and that island name is unrelated, coming from a Norse or pre-Norse root usually read as high land. The two meet only in spelling. American readers may associate the name with Kamala Harris, though there the surname is Tamil Brahmin by adoption rather than English by descent.
Harris in use
Harris ranks ninth in Scotland with 243 births in 2024, far ahead of its position anywhere else — 396th in England and Wales, 348th in Northern Ireland. That gap is the Hebridean connection doing its work, and it pairs with Lewis, and Lewis ranks 28th in Scotland for the same reason. Our records carry the name from 1880 and mark it as reviving, with an earlier peak in 1921 when it was still functioning mostly as a transferred surname.
How popular is Harris?
In 2025, Harris was given to 156 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Harris 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 Harris
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Harris also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Harris over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Harris
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Harris 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.
- Harrison
Sibling names for Harris
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Harris — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Harris
What does the name Harris mean?
Harris means "son of Harry," and Harry is the medieval English form of Henry, from Germanic elements meaning home and ruler.
Is Harris named after the Scottish island?
Not etymologically. The surname and the island name are separate, but the island is very likely why Scotland uses the name far more than anywhere else.
Is Harris short for Harrison?
No — both are independent surnames built on Harry. Harrison is the longer form, not the source.
How popular is Harris?
Ninth in Scotland, which is much higher than its rank in England and Wales or Northern Ireland.
Is Harris a girl's or a boy's name?
Harris is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Harris?
Harris has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Harris?
Harris is usually shortened to Harry.
Is Harris a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Harris currently ranks #9 in the United States. After peaking in the 1920s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.