Harper

Where Harper comes from

Inherited from Middle English Harpere.
— Wiktionary's entry for Harper
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1926
    Harper Lee born
    American novelist
  2. 1971
    First appearance
    #8,324 among girls, 5 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1972
    Harper Simon born
    singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer
  4. 1990
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  5. 2018
    Peak, #9
    10,646 babies named Harper — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname.
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
Namesakes
  • Harper Lee · American novelist, 1926–2016
  • Harper Simon · singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, born 1972
  • Harper Williams · American basketball player, born 1971
  • Harper Carter · American film actor, born 1939
  • Harper Goff · American musician, 1911–1993

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.