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Boy · Old Norse
Harald
Say it: HAH-rahld
Meaning
From Old Norse Haraldr: herr 'army' and valdr 'ruler'.
Certainscholars agree on this meaning.
Named on the Jelling stone and borne by kings of Norway and Denmark from the Viking age to today.
Its wave through time
Rare in the records
In the United States
- 759 babies given this name since 1913
- At its height in 1925, about 1 in 46,500 boys
- Fewer than 5 babies a year in 2020
Through the ages
- The Viking and Anglo-Saxon Age700 to 1100
- The High and Late Middle Ages1100 to 1450
- Victorian and Belle Époque1837 to 1914
- The Modern Age1880 to today
Used by
The family of the name
| Old Norse | Haraldr |
|---|---|
| Icelandic | Haraldur |
| English | Harold |
Famous bearers
- Harald Fairhair, first king of Norway
- Harald Bluetooth, king of Denmark
- Harald Hardrada, king of Norway
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- Viking Age runestone inscriptions
- Royal and noble genealogies
- The Icelandic sagas and other Old Norse literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.