Popularity of the name Harper, 1971–2025
Harper was at its most popular in 2018, when 10,646 girls were given the name: about 1 in 160 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #9. In 2025, 6,792 girls were named Harper, ranking #16. In all, Social Security counts 139,063 girls named Harper since 1971. Social Security’s records also list 6,769 boys named Harper.
- Peak year
- 2018
- Rank in 2018
- #9
- Babies in 2018
- 10,646
- Rank in 2025
- #16
- Total since 1971
- 139,063
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #10 in 2015 to #16 in 2025, with 10,311 girls named Harper in 2015 and 6,792 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Harper ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #10, with 47,509 girls given the name that decade. It started at #8,579 in the 1970s.
Every 20 years in the records: 6 in 1980 (#9,095), 136 in 2000 (#1,369) and 8,849 in 2020 (#10).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 10,803, in 2016. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 2016 than for 2018, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank, #9, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1971 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Harper, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 5 | #8,324 |
| 1974 | 9 | #5,776 |
| 1975 | 7 | #7,173 |
| 1976 | 9 | #6,048 |
| 1977 | 5 | #9,652 |
| 1978 | 10 | #5,958 |
| 1980 | 6 | #9,095 |
| 1981 | 8 | #7,409 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,224 |
| 1983 | 5 | #10,275 |
| 1984 | 5 | #10,422 |
| 1985 | 13 | #5,348 |
| 1986 | 8 | #7,749 |
| 1987 | 8 | #7,987 |
| 1988 | 11 | #6,666 |
| 1989 | 11 | #6,955 |
| 1990 | 12 | #6,867 |
| 1991 | 22 | #4,497 |
| 1992 | 21 | #4,686 |
| 1993 | 23 | #4,393 |
| 1994 | 34 | #3,302 |
| 1995 | 53 | #2,421 |
| 1996 | 107 | #1,503 |
| 1997 | 86 | #1,757 |
| 1998 | 93 | #1,709 |
| 1999 | 112 | #1,525 |
| 2000 | 136 | #1,369 |
| 2001 | 176 | #1,170 |
| 2002 | 164 | #1,224 |
| 2003 | 200 | #1,100 |
| 2004 | 274 | #887 |
| 2005 | 363 | #741 |
| 2006 | 597 | #510 |
| 2007 | 729 | #440 |
| 2008 | 1,128 | #296 |
| 2009 | 1,904 | #173 |
| 2010 | 2,634 | #120 |
| 2011 | 4,676 | #54 |
| 2012 | 7,199 | #24 |
| 2013 | 8,284 | #16 |
| 2014 | 9,619 | #11 |
| 2015 | 10,311 | #10 |
| 2016 | 10,803 | #11 |
| 2017 | 10,524 | #11 |
| 2018 | 10,646 | #9 |
| 2019 | 10,497 | #9 |
| 2020 | 8,849 | #10 |
| 2021 | 8,448 | #10 |
| 2022 | 8,227 | #11 |
| 2023 | 7,799 | #11 |
| 2024 | 7,394 | #12 |
| 2025 | 6,792 | #16 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.