Fun Facts About the Name Harald
- 808 babies named Harald: U.S. records list 808 babies given the name Harald from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Harald Mean?
Harald is a Scandinavian name meaning "army ruler" or "ruler of the host." It comes from Old Norse Haraldr, a compound of two Germanic elements: har-, meaning "army" or "host" (the root also seen in Old Norse herr, "army"), and -aldr, a shortened form of an element meaning "ruler" or "ruling power," related to Old Norse valdr, "ruler." The older, uncontracted Germanic form behind it is reconstructed as *Harjawaldaz, so the second element originally had an initial w that Norse dropped in this name.
Harald is not a worn-down form of the English name Harold. Both descend separately from the same Germanic compound, which appears as Hereweald in Old English and as Heriwald in Old High German. Harald is the Norse and later Scandinavian branch of that family; Harold is the English branch, also reinforced by the Norman form. The English common noun herald is traced by etymologists to the same compound by way of Frankish and Old French.
Harald Name History & Origins
The name is attested in medieval Scandinavia as Haraldr in Old Norse and as Harald in Old Danish and Old Swedish. It continues in modern Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish as Harald, and in Icelandic as Haraldur. Norse settlers and traders carried it to Iceland, the British Isles, and other parts of the Norse world, where it met the related English name Harold.
Several Scandinavian kings bore it. Harald Bluetooth (Haraldr blátǫnn), king of Denmark in the tenth century, is named in the runic inscription on the larger of the Jelling stones, which he had raised in memory of his parents, Gorm and Thyra. Harald Fairhair (Haraldr hárfagri) is remembered in later Icelandic tradition, above all in Snorri Sturluson's Heimskringla, as the king who brought Norway under one rule; those accounts were written centuries after his lifetime and mix history with legend. Harald Hardrada (Haraldr harðráði), king of Norway, was killed in 1066 at the Battle of Stamford Bridge in England.
As a royal name in both Denmark and Norway, Harald has stayed in ordinary use in Scandinavia, and it is the name of Norway's king Harald V, born in 1937. In modern English contexts the spelling Harald usually signals the Scandinavian form, as opposed to the English Harold. The wireless standard Bluetooth takes its name from Harald Bluetooth, and its logo is a bind rune combining the letters H and B of his name.
How Popular is the Name Harald?
Harald has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1925. Its best rank was #1,551 in 1925.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #5,953 | 15 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #6,573 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2023 | #9,205 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2022 | #8,545 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 2018 | #10,040 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2017 | #10,080 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #11,210 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2014 | #12,739 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1997 | #9,803 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1987 | #7,376 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1981 | #5,770 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1980 | #6,626 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1978 | #6,158 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1970 | #2,787 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1969 | #3,163 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1968 | #1,660 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1967 | #2,281 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1966 | #2,272 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1965 | #2,679 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1964 | #2,939 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1963 | #2,747 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1962 | #2,142 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1961 | #2,175 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1960 | #1,937 | 18 | 0.0008% |
| 1959 | #2,467 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1958 | #1,863 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1957 | #1,984 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1956 | #2,867 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1955 | #2,852 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1954 | #2,512 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1953 | #2,787 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1952 | #2,760 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1951 | #2,743 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1949 | #2,690 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1947 | #2,426 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1946 | #3,723 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #2,175 | 11 | 0.0008% |
| 1944 | #2,969 | 7 | 0.0005% |
| 1943 | #1,866 | 16 | 0.0011% |
| 1942 | #2,084 | 13 | 0.0009% |
| 1941 | #2,552 | 9 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #2,124 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #1,913 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1938 | #2,026 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1937 | #2,259 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1936 | #1,676 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1935 | #2,804 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1934 | #3,453 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #2,622 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1932 | #2,385 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1931 | #2,039 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1930 | #1,722 | 19 | 0.0017% |
| 1929 | #1,892 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1928 | #2,207 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1927 | #1,667 | 22 | 0.0020% |
| 1926 | #1,865 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1925 | #1,551 | 24 | 0.0022% |
| 1924 | #2,083 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1923 | #1,977 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1922 | #2,186 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1921 | #3,084 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1920 | #2,265 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1919 | #1,840 | 18 | 0.0018% |
| 1918 | #2,766 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1917 | #1,854 | 17 | 0.0018% |
| 1916 | #2,319 | 12 | 0.0013% |
| 1915 | #2,520 | 10 | 0.0012% |
| 1914 | #2,766 | 7 | 0.0011% |
| 1913 | #2,627 | 6 | 0.0012% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Harald Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You attract success and money. You are a lover of nature and do not need others for your happiness. You are self sufficient. You strive for material success and power and have business sense. You possess strong organizational abilities, can be a good manager, and executive by nature. You are capable of great achievement in business and finance. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Harald's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Harald's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.